New Investment Proposed for Burnie Terminal Development
Image Courtesy: DP World Australia; An artist's impression of the new container terminalContainer terminal stevedore DP World Australia and the Tasmanian Ports Corporation (Tasports) are going forward with their plan to develop an international container terminal at the Port of Burnie in North West Tasmania by proposing to provide an initial minimum of AUD 20 million (USD 15.3 million) staged investment.
The duo intends to invest in new port infrastructure and capacity enhancements for the terminal.
The 30-Year Port Plan is said to allow for accommodation of large vessels in Tasmania and provide the island state’s exporters access to world markets.
“Tasmanian exports are set to grow as soon as we can get direct shipping connections to major international ports, and the cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Perth,” Paul Scurrah, DP World Australia’s Managing Director and CEO, said.
In November 2015, DP World Australia and Tasports agreed to work together to provide a container terminal at the Port of Burnie.
The Port of Burnie was chosen as the most suitable location in Tasmania for its deep water port with direct sea access, enabling it to cater for large ships.
Once fully developed, the new container terminal is expected to handle the equivalent of 200,000 TEU per year. According to DP World, international container ships could be handled at Burnie as early as November 2017.
DP World Australia’s proposed investment of AUD 75 million (USD 57.2 million) includes the refurbishing the existing ship-to-shore crane, providing an additional ship-to-shore crane, developing the container yard for general and refrigerated containers, integrating the yard with the existing rail terminal, and providing yard container handling equipment.
