Authorities will soon review plans for a giant new farm complex in the Northern Territory.

Singleton Station, owned by Fortune Agribusiness, has proposed a massive fruit and vegetable farm south of Tennant Creek. 

The project will cover 3,300 hectares and will use a staged water licence of 40,000 megalitres a year. 

However, the Northern Territory's Environment Protection Authority (NTEPA) has stated that the project requires an environmental impact statement, the highest level of environmental assessment in the region. 

The decision is a first for an NT horticultural project, and the NTEPA has cited uncertainties about groundwater-dependent ecosystems and potential impacts on Aboriginal cultural values. 

Environmentalists from the Arid Lands Environment Centre have welcomed the decision, citing the large groundwater licence as a significant risk. 

Fortune Agribusiness had already started trialling crops on Singleton Station and hoped to start commercial plantings in early 2024, but NTEPA Chair, Paul Vogel, said the EIS process was likely to take “a couple of years”.  

The company said it would work with the EPA and argued that its staged water licence removed uncertainty. Meanwhile, Singleton's water licence is facing a legal challenge, which Fortune Agribusiness hopes will soon be resolved.