Business
16 October, 2024
Mount Isa's eagerness for project helped bid: Flying Whales
The CEO of the French-Canadian company praised the council's enthusiasm.
Flying Whales boss Sébastien Bougon admits he didn’t know where Mount Isa was when the city was first mooted as a potential airbase location.
He said he was even more perturbed when he found a map and saw how remote the city was.
Mr Bougon told last week’s gathering that it was Queensland government officials who initially recommended Mount Isa, which soon led to meetings in Brisbane with mayor Peta MacRae and council CEO Tim Rose.
“From our first meeting in Brisbane, I could see the enthusiasm of your mayor and CEO for the project,” he said.
“Mount Isa is actually perfectly placed on the map – it has the full coverage of operation to the Northern Territory and half of Queensland.
“We need good partners to develop the bases and that’s why we need the management of cities (such as local government) that are very motivated and energetic because we rely on them to help us to deploy these projects.
“Mount Isa is going to play a very important role.”
Cr MacRae said the remoteness of Mount Isa had proven an advantage for the proponents.
“Our inland location makes us a safer choice for the port than the coast weather-wise – plus we’re strategically placed to connect with locations across Australia and overseas,” she said.
“They (Flying Whales) are indeed big picture thinkers that have been able to solve a problem the whole world has been grappling with – how to transport large freight required for major infrastructure projects, where there has not been adequate investment in road and rail access.
“When I became mayor of Mount Isa, I never expected I'd be talking about whales let alone flying whales – but here we are.
“And it’s an Australian first, right here in our own backyard a very long way from the ocean.”