THE gates of the $1.9 billion desalination plant site at Kurnell have been opened to the media for the first time, revealing a project of massive proportions.
Boring of four-metre wide, 2.5km long intake and outlet tunnels has begun and work is well advanced on a treatment plant equivalent in size to four Bunnings stores.
A dozen huge cranes tower over the site, which is covered by an army of more than than 600 workers.
``It is the biggest gig in town,'' project director Bob Evans declared during the inspection on Friday.
``In fact, John Holland's chairman, who visited here the other day, said compared with the [$2.5 billion] EastLink expressway job in Victoria, it is far more intense.''
Water Minister Nathan Rees said even sceptics couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of the work, which was slightly ahead of schedule and ``going gangbusters''.
Despite the positive spin, the inspection was scheduled to attract minimum media attention, and the Minister for Good News, Morris Iemma, was nowhere to be seen.
``The Premier is otherwise engaged; he's got other things to attend to,'' Mr Rees said.
``I am sure Morris will be delighted, and he will be out here in due course.''
A deep crater has been excavated in sandstone to allow work to start on the inlet and outlet pipes.
The first 140 metres of each tunnel was cut with a road header in just two weeks, claimed to be a world record.
Two massive tunnel boring machines, each more than 100 metres long and weighing more than 200 tonnes, will continue the job of boring the tunnels to the ocean.
One of these machines is already being assembled in the outlet tunnel, and the same will happen when the other machine arrives from Germany.
Each will bore about 30 metres a day through the sandstone, with the rubble removed by conveyor belt.
Cranes will be used to assemble the building for the reverse osmosis equipment, which will convert the salt water to drinking water.