Following last month’s $4.8 million commitment from the NSW government, a televised report projected a 12-month time frame for the planning stage of the development.

Lithgow City Council acting general manager, Andrew Muir said there is a lot to be done before construction can begin.

“All of this will take some time so 12 months we don’t think is realistic, we won’t speculate just at the moment,” Mr Muir said.

“First off there will be funding deeds to be executed with the funding authority, from there the project planning phase can commence.”

Planning and construction applications and approvals will also need to be passed before the building work can begin.

“There may well be a need to look at some land out there for a small plant to be built upon, then of course the design work needs to be done,” he said.