Hazeldene expansion creates new jobs at Lockwood

ONE hundred and five new jobs will be created at Hazeldene's Chicken Farm with the state government supporting a $39 million expansion of the Lockwood facility.Parliamentary Secretary for Regional and Rural Development Damian Drum confirmed the government had granted $2 million in funding from the Regional Growth Fund.The money is expected to go toward the installation of a 7km water pipeline, a gas fire fired co-generation plant and construction of a new anaerobic sludge digester for its waste treatment system.Mr Drum said the money would help support the company to reduce its environmental footprint.“The Coalition Government is pleased to support Hazeldene’s with the project as part of our commitment to deliver key infrastructure to enable regional industries to become more resilient and sustainable," he said.options={AutoRewind:false,AutoStart:false,Player:"flv",Speed:"low"}“These 105 jobs are in addition to the existing 625 jobs at Hazeldene’s and the expansion is also estimated to create a further 101 construction-related positions.“An anaerobic digester will also be established to convert waste to biogas which can then be used to help fuel a new co-generation unit, providing thermal and electrical energy and reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by 6,920 tonnes per year.”Hazeldene's managing director John Hazeldene welcomed the funding today."Our current water supply connection to the Coliban system is inadequate for our needs," he said."During hot summer months there is a lack of water volume and pressure and we risk not being able to supply water to two million chickens in our Lockwood farms and our Lockwood production plant."For more, see tomorrow's Bendigo Advertiser.