Around 1,900 irrigators should be benefiting from the $120 million Sunraysia Modernisation Project (SMP), according to Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

Mr Hunt paid a visit to the major water project last week, having a look at the effort to turn traditional channels into pipelines through rural Victoria.

The Environment Minister said the project would help secure water supplies for irrigation.

“It's about a re-plumbing of rural Australia, not a buyout of our farms,” he said.

“There's a very clear priority under the Coalition, let's re-plumb rural Australia, let's make it more efficient.

“And these funds were funds that we set aside in 2007.”

Federal Nationals Member for Mallee, Andrew Broad, also toured the site, saying irrigators should be glad.

“Can I make this point about the SMP - there are very few cities, regional cities, in Australia that are having $103 million of federal money being spent of irrigation infrastructure.

“What we have in Mildura is a unique opportunity.”

The project has been going since mid-2014, featuring installation of pumps, pipelines, channel system automation, upgrading of gates and decommissioning of old equipment.

More information is available here.