A$400m to boost auto capacity at Port of Melbourne
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18 June 2012
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It has been announced that a further A$400 million will be invested at the Port of Melbourne to consolidate the import and export auto trade at Webb Dock. This brings the overall investment in the Port of Melbourne Expansion Project to A$1.6 billion and will create an additional 420 jobs during the construction phase.
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The works will expand Melbourne's existing automotive terminal capacity to handle in excess of 600,000 vehicles annually and will also deliver world class, on-dock pre-delivery inspection (PDI) facilities. The automotive aspect of the Port Expansion Project will see the construction of 920 metres of new wharves, more than 1,000 supporting piles and 24,000 square metres of concrete decking.
Combined with the delivery of a new container terminal and expanded capacity at Swanson Dock, this development will directly generate 1,100 jobs and secure employment for many thousands of people across the state.
This project will provide facilities for all PDI operations to take place on-dock, which involves minor works carried out to vehicles prior to delivery. At the moment, about 60 per cent of all imported vehicles are trucked across Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge for PDI processing in the city’s West; with about a third of these vehicles then returned for a second time for delivery to eastern Victoria.
By consolidating all PDI at the Webb Dock site and utilising the new terminal's direct access to the M1 freeway, it is anticipated that this project will create efficiencies for the industry and encourage further investment from the private sector.
The auto industry employs more than 40,000 people across Victoria. Despite tough global economic conditions, Australian-made cars, parts and engines continue to be exported around the world with Toyota dispatching ships carrying Camrys and other models every week from the Port of Melbourne. |
