In a press conference on Thursday, the Federal Energy and Climate Minister Chris Bowen said, “I remain very upbeat and excited about Sun Cable’s future.”

“Certainly I’ve been speaking to very senior people in Sun Cable over the last 24 hours, they tell me that there is absolutely no reduction in their ambition, there is no change in their plans for this to be going forward as a very important investment in Australia.”

The project is also a key component of Australia’s plan to export renewable energy to Asia, a growing clean energy market. According to Minister Bowen, the project has the potential to “unlock a new era of energy exports and create jobs and economic growth in the Northern Territory and across Australia.”

The project has the potential to create thousands of jobs and generate significant economic benefits for the region and the country as a whole. He acknowledged the recent dispute between the project’s investors, but he assured that the government is in active discussions with all the stakeholders and that the project is moving forward.

“I certainly hope that they make their corporate decisions and then get on with the job,” he said.