Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has claimed the proposed Middle Arm manufacturing precinct will not include a “petrochemical plant” despite the government’s “gas strategy” website clearly stating that the precinct will include “low-emission petrochemicals production, including ammonia, urea and ethylene” used to produce plastics.

Ms Fyles made the claims on ABC Radio on Tuesday morning, seeming to imply that the government’s own website was “factually wrong”, while also claiming her government welcomes scrutiny about its actions and “have got nothing to hide”.

“It is not a petrochemical plant in our harbour,” she said.

“This is around the decarbonisation of industries around the world using that clean energy and there is opportunities such as solar, but we’ve also got hydrogen, green hydrogen, for example. So everything is out in the open around this project.”

According to the government’s “Our Territory Gas Strategy” website, the so-called “Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct” will provide “world-class common user infrastructure and recognised expertise to attract low-emission energy production, advanced manufacturing and minerals processing”, including gas-based processing.

The government website also states that the “precinct ecology” is based on low-emissions “fuel production including hydrogen and methanol”; liquified natural gas export and “low-emission petrochemicals production, including ammonia, urea and ethylene”.

Environment Centre NT director Kirsty Howey previously said the petrochemicals produced at the precinct used for the manufacturing of plastics, “can be extremely polluting”.

However, Ms Fyles said that was untrue and that the concerns by the ECNT were based on “slides they were given”.

“So it’s factually wrong and I’ve met with the Environment Centre to outline to them. They did a report, a study, and they based it on some slides that they were given that were incorrect,” she said.

“And so I explained to them that we’re more than happy to share the information around these plans. And of course, we want to be scrutinized we welcome that scrutiny because we’ve got nothing to hide.”

However, Ms Howey said Ms Fyles’s comments that a petrochemicals plant would not be at the precinct was the first time she had heard that and “welcomed” the comments.

“While we welcome this statement, it directly contradicts what Resources Minister Madeleine King said on radio only yesterday, as well as information on Northern Territory Government websites, presentations given by members of the NT Gas Taskforce, and indeed the documents submitted to the NTEPA for environmental assessment,” she told the NT Independent.

Ms Howey added that if the NT Government was serious about not having a petrochemicals plant at Middle Arm, they should make that clear in promotional materials.

“We are calling on the Northern Territory Government to remove all references to gas processing, gas manufacturing (petrochemicals) from Northern Territory Government websites, including the environmental impact assessment for the project currently before the NTEPA,” she said.

“Territorians deserve to know the truth about what this potentially toxic project on their doorstep really is.”

The Federal Albanese Government re-committed the previous Coalition Government’s $1.5 billion for the Middle Arm project in last week’s budget, which will see the money to develop the precinct rolled out over the next seven years.

On Monday, Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said the NT Government had been working to attract businesses to the precinct and that the Federal Government would work cooperatively to see it built, while also appearing to contradict Ms Fyles.

“It’s possible there will be petrochemicals here,” she said.

“But I also point out that petrochemicals are part of our everyday life. It’s part of advanced manufacturing in the modern world. I reject the demonisation of a product which is vast – petrochemicals are everywhere.”

Ms Fyles said while no industry player has yet to commit to the project, the government has established “investment commissioners” who will attract the “companies interested in what we’re doing”.

“As I said, this is something that we have planned for and it’s now going through stages and we look forward to being at the forefront of Australia’s decarbonisation of industry,” she said.

The Middle Arm manufacturing precinct is seen as a linchpin in the government’s goal of achieving a $40 billion economy by 2030. The government has recently been promoting their economic objectives through a media partnership with the NT News.