Major earthworks are now underway at the $225 million Flinders Substation south of Hughenden.
CopperString has moved another major piece of infrastructure into physical construction, with crews now delivering the civil workfront for the new Flinders Substation south of Hughenden. The Queensland Government says current works include a new access road, upgrades at the Kennedy Developmental Road entrance and preparation of the future substation site, with bulk earthworks expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
The stage change matters because the Flinders Substation is one of the first major CopperString assets to move beyond approvals, design and early preparation into a sustained earthworks campaign. Powerlink previously awarded the civil and earthworks package to McCosker Contracting, while the latest government update names Wieben Earthmoving and the Warwombie Road Quarry as local businesses now winning work around the project.
For industry, the signal is real but specific: this is an active substation earthworks package within CopperString’s Eastern Link, not evidence that every transmission-line package is already under construction or available to tender.
Flinders Substation has moved from preparation into a live bulk-earthworks workfront
The Queensland Government’s 30 September update confirms major earthworks are underway at the Flinders Substation site, about 6 kilometres south of Hughenden. The current civil activities include construction of a new access road, works at the Kennedy Developmental Road entrance and preparation of the future substation platform.
This follows a sequence of earlier milestones. The Flinders Substation received Ministerial Infrastructure Designation approval in December 2025. In June 2026, the Government reported that ground had been broken ahead of bulk earthworks. In July, the first major package was formally identified: McCosker Contracting was awarded the Flinders Substation civil and earthworks work. The latest announcement now confirms the workfront has moved into substantive construction.
Powerlink describes the Flinders Substation as a $225 million project element. That figure is the value associated with the substation project, not the disclosed value of McCosker’s package. BBI has not identified a public contract value for the civil and earthworks award and is not treating the $225 million project figure as a contractor award.
The Flinders workfront sits inside the Eastern Link from Reid River to Hughenden
Just under 350 kilometres of 330 kV transmission infrastructure, plus substations and supporting works
Powerlink’s current project page says the Eastern Link will involve just under 350 kilometres of 330 kilovolt transmission line from Reid River, near Townsville, to Hughenden. The section also requires substation sites and supporting workforce accommodation and enabling infrastructure along the delivery corridor.
The Flinders Substation is the Hughenden-side anchor now moving through construction. Powerlink says the asset is intended to feed new generation across the Flinders Shire into CopperString’s Eastern Link and connect that generation into the National Electricity Market.
The current site activities are civil rather than electrical commissioning works. Today’s verified workfront is road and access preparation, entrance upgrades and bulk earthworks for the substation site. Later substation construction and electrical installation will follow the project’s detailed delivery sequence.
The Eastern Link is targeted for completion by 2032, subject to the remaining planning and environmental approvals required for construction commencement across the wider corridor. Powerlink continues work on detailed design, easements, field investigations, environmental approvals and construction readiness while the ownership and delivery transition to a QIC-managed entity is progressed.
One substation is active; the wider Eastern Link remains staged
Earthworks underway does not mean the full transmission corridor is already in construction
The clearest way to read CopperString’s current position is to separate the live workfront from the remaining program. Confirmed today: major Flinders Substation earthworks are underway; McCosker holds the civil and earthworks package; local businesses named by Government are participating; and bulk earthworks are targeted to finish by the end of 2026.
Still ahead: completion of the civil package, progressive substation construction, ongoing Eastern Link easement and design work, remaining approvals for broader construction sections, and the implementation of the revised delivery model under the new QIC-managed ownership structure.
That distinction is commercially important. CopperString is a multi-year infrastructure program. Suppliers should not assume the current earthworks start means all future line, substation, logistics, electrical or civil packages are simultaneously open or awarded.
McCosker’s package is live, local participation is visible, but Powerlink currently lists no open CopperString tenders
The current opportunity signal is delivery participation, not a new public tender release
Powerlink’s tender and work-package page lists the Flinders Substation Civil and Earthworks Package as awarded to McCosker Contracting in July 2026. The latest government update also says Wieben Earthmoving and the Warwombie Road Quarry are winning work as construction advances.
BBI has not attributed a specific subcontract scope, award date or contract value to Wieben Earthmoving or Warwombie Road Quarry because those details are not stated in the public update. Their significance is that local supply-chain participation is now visible around an active CopperString construction workfront.
Powerlink’s current procurement page lists no open CopperString tenders or work packages. That does not mean the future pipeline is exhausted. Powerlink continues to encourage businesses to register on the CopperString supplier register and keep capability statements current so they can be considered as future opportunities develop.
Powerlink’s project page says 55 works packages had been released and 3,163 expressions of interest received by January 2026, with 876 suppliers registered. Those historic participation figures show the scale of market interest, but they should not be confused with live tender availability today.
Flinders matters because it is where CopperString starts converting policy and funding into durable network infrastructure
CopperString’s Eastern Link is designed to connect North and North West Queensland more directly to the National Electricity Market, creating a platform for new generation, firming and industrial development. The project’s wider policy case is closely tied to the North West Minerals Province and the electricity needs of mining and regional communities.
The delivery structure is also changing. A QIC-managed entity is being established to develop, deliver, own, operate and maintain CopperString, while Powerlink continues priority Eastern Link activities through the transition. For contractors, that means the near-term workfront and the long-term delivery model need to be watched separately: Powerlink is still progressing construction readiness and procurement activity, while QIC and Powerlink finalise the transition plan and operating model.
The State’s $200 million North West Energy Fund sits alongside this work and is being used to support renewable generation, batteries and microgrid solutions in the western part of the corridor. A recent memorandum of understanding for further development work around a battery and wind solution for Dugald River Mine is one example of how the transmission program and regional energy-development pipeline can intersect.
BBI previously covered the $3.2 billion CopperString budget commitment and the Dugald River mine energy-development signal. Today’s story is the construction-stage update: major earthworks are now happening at a core CopperString asset.
What contractors and suppliers should watch next
- Major earthworks are underway at Flinders Substation south of Hughenden.
- McCosker Contracting holds the civil and earthworks package.
- Current works include access, Kennedy Developmental Road entrance upgrades and substation site preparation.
- Wieben Earthmoving and Warwombie Road Quarry are named as local businesses winning work.
- Bulk earthworks are targeted for completion by the end of 2026.
- Flinders Substation is a $225 million CopperString project element.
- Powerlink currently lists no open CopperString tenders or work packages.
- Completion of the Flinders bulk-earthworks package.
- Visible progression into substation civil, structural and electrical construction.
- Further Eastern Link approvals, easements and detailed-design milestones.
- Implementation of the QIC-managed ownership and delivery model.
- Future transmission-line and supporting-infrastructure work-package releases.
- Updated supplier registration, prequalification and capability requirements.
- Eastern Link delivery progress toward the 2032 target, subject to approvals.
Project Watch identifies verified project movements and the commercial signals behind them. The BBI Directory helps project teams and contractors find businesses operating across regional Queensland.
Sources and primary references
- Queensland Government — CopperString becoming a reality in North Queensland, 30 September 2026
- Powerlink — CopperString project overview, status, Eastern Link and supplier information
- Powerlink — CopperString tenders and work packages
- Queensland Government — CopperString powers ahead for regional Queensland, 1 July 2026
- Queensland Government — 2026–27 Budget energy and CopperString investment