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Townsville Port Expansion increases capacity for mineral export

Announcement posted by Expotrade 23 Mar 2016

New outer harbour area in conjunction with the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor Project

22nd March, Brisbane, QLD: Situated in Cleveland Bay on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, the Port of Townsville is the third largest seaport in Queensland and plays a large role in supporting the  Queensland economy.

The Port of Townsville’s nine operational berths handle more than one eighth of Queensland’s international trade, as the number one port in Australia for the export of copper, zinc, lead and sugar, handling nearly $11 billion in trade during the 2014/15 period.

The port is ideally situated for the export of mineral resources into Asia, constituting more than 75 per cent of the state’s metal exports. Trade volume to Asia also increased by nearly 2.76 million tonnes over the past five years.

With the recent expansion of the state’s oil and gas capabilities, now competing against Western Australia and the Northern Territory for the export of LNG, Queensland ports have extensive opportunity to capitalise on increased export and trade.

Operated by Port of Townsville Limited, the Townsville port is now undergoing a significant transformation to boost its capacity for overseas export, with the construction of a new outer harbour area.

Dubbed the Townsville Port Expansion Project, the expansion is expected to be worth more than $1.49 billion and is expected to foresee the widening and deepening of existing sea channels to improve accessibility for larger vessels.

The transformation is expected to take approximately twenty years to complete, and will include the construction of up to an additional six berths, as well as the reclamation of approximately 100 hectares of underutilised land.

The expansion comes in conjunction with the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor project, which aims to construct a rail freight line to connect the North Coast rail line directly into the Port of Townsville.

This rail project is expected to assist the port in meeting future demand for the growing supply of minerals coming in from the Mount Isa rail system; a critical link to the mines in north-west Queensland’s minerals province.

Chief Executive Officer of Port of Townsville Limited, Ranee Crosby, will be speaking at the 7th Annual Queensland Transport Infrastructure Conference 2016 in May, to discuss the development of the port’s expansion.

Other major transport infrastructure developments currently taking place within Queensland include the Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway Upgrade Project, Abbot Point Growth Gateway Project and Warrego Highway Upgrade Program.

The conference is an opportunity for industry leaders and government officials to share ideas on common transport challenges and to acquire the latest information on major transport infrastructure projects taking shape in Queensland.

The 7th Annual Queensland Transport Infrastructure Conference 2016 is being held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on the 10th & 11th of May.

 

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