Industrial
land users and developers in New South Wales have been watching closely
the changes in transport infrastructure. These changes include the implementation
of the NSW Ports Growth Plan, the (near) completion of the M7 Orbital
and the commencement of the Lane Cove Tunnel.
Transport and logistics activities comprise the bulk of industrial land
users and these changes impact on both their business operations and demand
for space. State and local government planners are aware of this and are
analysing the impact of these changes on demand for appropriately zoned
industrial land.
Land with good access to ports through the main transport routes is valuable
and many transport and logistics operators will commit readily to such
sites.
Terminology TEU
- Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (a twenty foot container) |
The NSW Ports
Growth Plan started in 2003 and is being implemented in stages.
The most recent announcements have been for the relocation of the
vehicle handling operations from Glebe Island to Port Kembla and
for the upgrading and extension of the facilities at Port Botany. |
| Port & Management Organisation | Current Situation | NSW Ports Growth Plan | Freight Infrastructure Advisory Board (FIAB) Set up to prepare a framework for increasing the share of container freight transported by rail |
Local and Regional Initiatives |
| Port
of Newcastle Managed by Newcastle Port Corporation (NPC) |
Predominantly
Export Major exporter of coal (bulk) Some bulk agricultural products |
Development of a multi purpose terminal (MPT) located on the former BHP Steelworks site (40-45ha) which will enable container handling | Regional Land
Management Corporation (RLMC) currently facilitating the release of
port related land at Kooragang Island (1,300ha) and Tomago (545ha) The former BHP lands adjacent to the proposed MPT have been Masterplanned |
|
| Sydney
Harbour and Botany Bay Managed by Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC) |
Predominantly Imports
|
Relocation of
container handling from Darling Harbour to Port Botany Relocation of vehicle import activities to Port Kembla, announced October 2005 Upgrade and expansion of Port Botany to include a new terminal |
Requirement to
move freight off Sydney’s roads - proposing inter-modal hubs
at
|
Development of Enfield inter-modal hub which is managed by Sydney Ports Corporation |
| Port
Kembla Managed by Port Kembla Port Corporation (PKPC) |
Predominantly
Exports Exporter of steel and grain |
Extension
of the multi purpose berth and development of a general cargo handling
terminal in the Inner Harbour Reclamation of land and development of 2 new berths in the Outer Harbour Relocation of vehicle import activities to Port Kembla, announced October 2005 |
Development
of port lands (40ha) in the Inner Harbour Development of land (30ha) to be reclaimed in the Outer Harbour Wollongong City Council, PKPC and DIPNR have formed a project control team to develop a land use strategy for industrial and port areas of Port Kembla; this will include revised planning controls. |
Much of the focus
of the Ports strategy has been on the land-based transport and capacity
issues; however these are also being influenced by maritime based trends
including the move towards larger ships. The ability of ports to handle
post-Panamax ships is a constraint, often necessitating channel deepening
as in the case of Port of Melbourne.
This trend toward larger ships is predominantly noticed with bulk cargo
(oil carriers) and container ships. Larger ships are able to offer a cheaper
per unit cost in transporting goods. However, larger ships also involve
longer docks, larger cranes and deeper channels.
This increasing size of ships is also an indication of the concentration
in the international shipping industry with large shipping lines often
able to dictate terms to port operators. Port operators around the world
in order to facilitate trade through their port are mindful of the ability
of other ports with greater capacity to compete. Many port operators are
constantly upgrading facilities to accommodate the larger ships.
These trends have encouraged the relocation of operations from facilities
in Sydney Harbour west of the Harbour Bridge due to the inability of these
large ships to get below the bridge. As a consequence development is concentrating
on ports with few maritime capacity constraints.
Newcastle MPT and
Adjacent Lands
The Newcastle MPT is being developed on the former BHP lands to the south
of the Hunter River (south arm). This will initially entail construction
of a multi purpose facility with the capacity for at least 1 million TEU’s
pa, which will have post-Panamax capacity. Further construction may include
a general cargo handling facility, and further expansion of container
and general cargo operations. This is being managed by NPC
 |
| Source: Newcastle MPT |
The MPT only occupies part of the site which is 150ha in total; the remaining lands are to be developed with industrial and commercial uses. These lands have been Masterplanned to facilitate this development and this process is being managed by the RLMC.
The development of these lands is also creating opportunities for port related industries, freight forwarders, transport operators, importers and exporters.
Kooragang
Island and Tomago Sites
Lands on Kooragang Island comprise government lands plus former BHP lands;
these lands total 1,300ha. Approximately 100ha is already occupied by
Graincorp, Tomago Aluminium, Sims Metal, Toll Transport, Barclay Mowlem,
BOC Gases and HiFert. A further 800ha is zoned for environmental protection.
Development of the remaining 400ha is being facilitated by the RLMC and
proposals being considered include coal loading, manufacturing, bulk goods
handling and industrial development.
The Tomago site comprises 545ha on the Hunter River (north arm). This
land is being marketed for sale and proposals include both light and heavy
industry.
Port Botany
Stage One of the expansion of Port Botany is to comprise a new terminal
with 4 berths, the reclamation of 51 hectares of land and the road and
rail access to these new facilities. There is the potential for further
expansion which would involve a new berth, the location of which is to
be finalised.
|
Enfield Inter-Modal hub
The development of an inter-modal logistics hub on the Enfield Marshalling yards is anticipated to comprise loading and unloading facilities, warehousing operations, an open container storage area and an associated light industrial precinct.
This project is currently at the Environmental Impact Study and community consultation stage.
Port Kembla
The upgrading and expansion of Port Kembla will involve facilities in both the Inner and Outer Harbours.
Inner Harbour – This will involve an upgrade of the multi-purpose berth to bring it to 4 berth capacity and construction of a general cargo handling terminal. These facilities will accommodate the shipping and cargo that will be redirected from White Bay and Darling Harbour when the leases on those facilities expire in 2006.
Outer Harbour – This is a longer term project and is anticipated to involve the reclamation of 30 hectares of land and the addition of new berths and terminal facilities. These could accommodate bulk cargos (liquids, minerals and agricultural products).
Conclusion
These changes at the maritime level have profound implications for land based distributions and storage systems. This is creating significant opportunities for further development especially where new transport infrastructure is concerned. Furthermore these factors are being evaluated because both state and local planning bodies are creating land development opportunities both now and into the future.
