George Town 'the place to be': Chamber welcomes Bell Bay announcement

The Examiner revealed on Sunday that Bell Bay was nominated as the preferred site for a facility that would manufacture high-voltage subsea cable, part of a $30 billion total solar energy project aimed at supplying power to Darwin and onto Singapore via 4300 kilomtres of underwater cable.

Chamber president James Cameron said George Town was undergoing "significant investment in the local community", and the Bell Bay facility would only amplify it.

"From a population increase basis, the Chamber has adopted a target population down here of at least 12,000," Mr Cameron said.

"With those sorts of numbers and the other projects that we are doing; there's 400 or so houses that are on the drawing board that have actually been built or will be built over the next couple of years.

"The retail area in Main Street is being redeveloped and there's a number of new businesses that are coming in...I really see this place booming," he said.

He said George Town was "the place to be".

"It's all happening down here; really, it's just going to be a case of accommodating and housing people here, and having the houses for them ready to live in."

George Town mayor Greg Kieser said the investment was for families who wanted a future.

"A substantial additional industrial player in the Northern Tasmanian market will give Bell Bay a significant step up for a significant length of time," Cr Kieser said.

"That's what our community is all about, people who like to live and work close to home; it's about making sure that your kids have a future that our biggest export isn't young people to the mainland."

He said the investment was a high value add from a large employer, in a market where demand for renewable energy was "surging".

"And it will continue to do so for the next 30 to 40 years, so it's a very good long term prospect in any community," he said.

"This is a concrete way that we can have a direct impact on global decarbonisation.

"It's good for the environment, it's good for Tasmania, and it's good for the planet."

Treasurer Michael Ferguson said SunCable's manufacturing facility would inject billions into the Tasmanian economy.

"This project would provide exciting careers for Tasmanian generations to come, particularly in the Tamar region."

Tasmanian Labor also supported the announcement, with Labor member for Elwick Josh Willie saying it would help grow the Tasmanian economy.

"We're very supportive of this proposal and we look forward to meeting with the proponents," Mr Willie said.