New Downer asphalt plant in Kelso officially opened

The new facility cost $5.8 million to build, with the operation directly employs 18 fulltime people and engages more than 20 local suppliers and contractors, as it replaced the old facility at Zagreb Street.

During the construction phase more than 50 people were employed, including many from the local community.

Downers executive general manager for road services, Dante Cremasco, said the new facility replaces the near 40-year-old one.

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"We've been in the area for quite a number of years and unfortunately our previous plant had gotten quite old," he said.

"We've been in the process of updating our regional plants for a number of years and in 2019 we finally got the internal go-ahead to replace our old plant in Bathurst, which was over 40 years old.

"We now have a plant that can service the needs of not just the Bathurst community but the wider community. We're capable of producing mix up to 180 tonnes an hour.

"When it's time to re-surface the icon that we continually get drawn to in Bathurst, we're confident that the plant can deliver those kind of projects."

Mr Downers explained that the new asphalt plant is also focused on sustainability, recycling old asphalt materials.

"Anything we do today, when it gets to the end of its serviceable life, it will be able to be taken up, taken back to this facility, reprocessed, have the natural things added and put it back onto the roads again," he said.

"This is only possible from the technology we've invested in this plant in Bathurst, regional areas and around the country."

Mr Downers said the old plant was able to recycle but not to the extent the new one can.

"Certainly the plant was a lot lower in productivity. We were averaging about 40 tonnes an hour," he said.

"We're now averaging about four to five times that. You could recycle certain items, but nothing close to the capability of this plant. It had gotten to the end of its life and we needed to reset."

Bathurst MP Paul Toole, who was on hand for the new asphalt plant's opening on Thursday, said the facility is leading the way in asphalt production technology.

"This is pretty exciting. We're seeing some of the latest technology at this state-of-the-art facility serve the community for decades to come," he said.

"This $6 million investment is leading the way with technology when it comes to asphalt production."

Work on the new plant started in November and ended in March.