Plans to develop a second container port in the State of Victoria have received a major boost with confirmation that funding for key preliminary work will be provided by the Victorian government.
Port of Hastings
While the total cost of the Port of Hastings development project is estimated to cost several billion dollars, the government has committed $110 million over the next four years to finance a number of essential preliminary project aspects, including transportation planning, design work, and the cost of satisfying the environmental approvals process.
The ambitious plans for the Port of Hastings will eventually see the completion of a container port with a capacity of up to 9 million containers, which would represent twice the current capacity of the Port of Melbourne – though Melbourne itself is undergoing a $1.6 billion expansion project.
Announcing the funding, Victorian Premier Denis Napthine stated that container trade in Victoria was expected to quadruple by 2035 making the development of Port of Hastings a vital move in the economic future of the state.
“Decisive action is being taken to build a second Victorian container port and ensure this state remains the freight and logistics capital of Australia,” he said.
Port of Melbourne
Melbourne’s own container trade was worth more than $82 billion last year, and with growth of between 5% and 6% annually, the need to expand the capacity of the city and state’s container facilities has become acute.
Victoria Ports Minister David Hodgett said the multi-billion dollar development was an essential part of meeting the trade demands of the future.
“Without investing to meet future demand, the State will reach capacity by the mid 2020s, even with the benefit of current expansion projects,” Mr Hodgett said.
“The Port of Hastings is a critical project for Victoria and the Napthine Government is getting on with delivering the vital infrastructure our State needs.”
The State Government, which has also confirmed it will seek private investment to help fund the remaining stages of the project, stated that the announced funding package will finance:
- completion of preferred scope
- design work
- transport connection planning
- preliminary work to support environmental approvals processes
- business case development
- procurement and delivery strategies
The need for more significant port facilities at Hastings was foreseen almost 60 years ago, when the Bolte Government of the 1960s set aside a total of 4,000 hectares of land to facilitate future port expansion, and some of this land will now be utilised.
“With this land and Hastings’ status as a naturally deep port, there is no doubt that this is the best option for development to meet our growing freight needs,” Premier Napthine said.
According to the Port of Hastings Development Authority, which was set up in 2012, the ultimate goal is to create a world-class, competitive port by 2060.
