Cobbora Holding Company Pty Limited (CHC) has appointed agents to sell almost 44,000 hectares of land acquired for the failed Cobbora Coal Project.
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CHC holds 43,857 hectares of land, including agricultural land, stand-alone native vegetation, biodiversity offsets and lifestyle blocks. and 7097 megalitres (annual allocation) of water access licences, most of which will be sold separately.
The land was acquired for a proposed coal mine to supply state owned companies that were later privatised.
In 2013, the Baird government , facing a cost of more than $1.5 billion to develop and operate the mine, announced that the project would be leased or sold.
In November 2015, the state government announced the site would be sold as agricultural land, as its value as farmland exceeded all expressions of interest in the coal project.
CHC announced on Sunday that following a competitive tender process, CBRE Pty Ltd has been appointed to oversee the sale of CHC’s landholdings.
CBRE will be supported by Dunedoo estate agents Milling Stuart Pty Ltd and accounting and agribusiness advisers Chapman Eastway.
CHC has also appointed Waterfind Pty Ltd to oversee the sale of high security water access licences and groundwater licences, following a similar tender process.
Marketing for the landholdings is expected to commence in mid to late October.
The sale process for water licences will begin within the next fortnight.
In a statement, CHC said it would continue to liaise with current licencees and tenants to ensure they are informed about the sale process.
The sale process is expected to conclude in 2017.
CBRE Agribusiness Director Colin Medway said the sale would be eagerly anticipated, with the divestment of the landholding poised to provide opportunities for a broad range of buyers.
The site offers multiple opportunities, with the smaller land parcels likely to be sold either as weekenders or to locals looking for lifestyle acreage sites, Mr Medway said.
“The larger timberland sites are expected to attract strong interest from businesses looking for vegetation offsets while the agricultural aggregations will be hotly contested, including by established farming families looking to expand their existing landholdings.”
CHC chief executive officer Richard Outridge, said the appointment of qualified companies would bring significant knowledge to the sale process.
