The buyers of three parcels of land that made up the former Queensland Agricultural Training College campus at Longreach have been named, after their contracts to purchase the properties settled.
All land south of the Landsborough Highway, the campus and grazing land, has been purchased by PJ and CR Britton for $7.6 million.
Grazing land north of the Landsborough Highway was purchased by JH and SJ Milson for $3.6 million.
Improved farming land adjacent to the Thomson River has been purchased by Unleashing Australia Fund Pty Ltd, also known as Outback Pioneers, for $1.2 million.
The combined sale price of the three successful tenders is $12.4 million, with all three sale prices exceeding the independent market valuation for the property configurations.
The former QATC Longreach Pastoral College was placed on the market in December 2022 through a tender process in up to six different configurations to give buyers options to purchase various parcels through marketing agents Wally Cooper from RPL Longreach and Geoff Warriner and Chris Holgar from JLL Agribusiness.
Mr Cooper said there was overwhelming enquiry for the assets during the tender process and congratulated the successful tenderers on their purchases.
Seventeen tenders were received but a number did not conform with the requirements of the tender process.
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Agri-Science Queensland executive director Wayne Hall said assessment of the tenders included giving weight to the community benefits offered by each tender.
"The planned activities of the successful tenderers will support jobs and services for the Longreach community, " Mr Hall said.
"The exact timing and nature of those activities are a matter for the successful tenderers.
"Settlement of these contracts means that the department's involvement with this site has now come to an end."
The Queensland government made a commitment that the tender process would consider both the price offered and the proposed community benefit for Longreach and the wider region.
The government says the community benefits to be delivered by the successful buyers include:
- Tourism operations - growing tourism products and experiences, resulting in greater visitation and economic return for the broader region and communities;
- Recreation of historical Chinese Gardens on the Thomson River - delivering cost effective market garden production servicing local restaurants and community groups, and providing multi-cultural cohesion within an educational horticultural environment;
- Expansion of sheep, cattle and goat production;
- Sustainable hay production - locally grown at a cost-effective production for the local and wider community;
- Campus facilities available for re-establishment of a rural training facility; and
- Growing local jobs through tourism, education, horticulture and livestock production activities.
The successful buyers will engage with local schools, restaurants, cafes and community; Indigenous groups; various universities; contractors and other agribusinesses.
The Queensland government is investing $9.75 million in training infrastructure for the agriculture sector across Queensland over the current and next financial years, including $3.4 million for an Agricultural Centre of Excellence in Bowen, $2 million for an Aquaculture Training Centre in Cannonvale, $3.35 million for a new Agriculture and Horticulture Centre in Bundaberg and $1 million for stage 2 of the Rural Centre of Excellence in Toowoomba.
Additionally, under the 2022-23 state Budget, more than $140 million in research, development and extension work is being overseen by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, jointly funded by the government and a range of industry and research partners.
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