Resort still on cards for Dunk Island
Businessman Peter Bond, founder of the failed Linc Energy group, has let the sublease on the Dunk Island Spit lapse but says he is re-tendering for the strategic site and has recommitted to opening a resort on the island off Queensland’s Mission Beach.
The troubled oil and gas company was wound up last year with debts of $320 million, but Bond says he will re-tender for Dunk Island Spit, which is presently being offered for tender through the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
The Spit is adjacent to the Dunk Island Resort, which is controlled by Bond and his son Adam, and the Dunk Island National Park.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
The council is calling for the private sector to take a 10-year lease with a 10-year option over Dunk Island’s Spit site as well as providing infrastructure that could include upmarket camping with dedicated cabins, a bar and entertainment precinct as well as the ability to stage pop-up stalls.
“We already have a cafe and a restaurant there on the Spit, we put in a proposal for an expanded cafe and restaurant,” Bond says.
The sooner people can get the resorts operating and are employing locals the better. The more economic activity we can get the better
But Bond, who was once worth $450 million, would not be drawn on when the main Dunk Island resort would reopen, having bought the site and infrastructure in 2012 for $7.5 million, a year after it was wiped out by Cyclone Yasi.
“We have finished the resort and we are finishing the accommodation, (but) there is no date set for opening,” Bond told The Australian yesterday.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council chief executive James Gott says it is obviously in the regional council’s interest for Queensland’s island resorts to be operating. Resort islands under the council’s jurisdiction include the 813ha Dunk Island, Hinchinbrook Island, which is not operating, and Bedarra.
“Things were knocked around by the cyclone,” Gott says. “The sooner people can get the resorts operating and are employing locals the better. The more economic activity we can get the better.”
Under the tender, the council is asking for a one-off premium of $25,000 to cover administrative overheads and tender preparation costs as well as lease costs.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
