DP WORLD and NSW Ports have announced a co-investment of $400 million to expand the rail terminal at Sydney’s Port Botany.
The move will see capacity at the improved facility more than double, from 400,000TEU to 1 million TEU per annum.
NSW Ports is contributing $148 million for the new facility which will service both the container terminal and logistics park, which DP World says is an example of the global trend for locating major logistics facilities close to major arterial ports.
The project is slated to start on site in June this year and is estimated to take two years to compete, and comprises the addition of five new rail sidings serviced by rail mounted gantry cranes, to accommodate 600-metre-long regional trains.
Nicolaj Noes, Executive Vice President, Oceania, DP World, said “Our investment in this new port-centric logistics infrastructure will deliver more capacity, superior agility, seamless integration of processes, increased productivity and added reliability”.
“We cannot wait for our present and future customers to reap the benefits of this world-class facility, which accelerates the shift of freight from road to rail while reducing carbon emissions and improving Sydney’s air quality at the same time.”
Marika Calfas, CEO of NSW Ports, said “This collaboration with DP World to deliver a new, enhanced, rail terminal continues the growth of on-dock rail capacity at Port Botany to service the state’s import and export trade”.
“This new rail terminal will enable more containers to be moved by rail, reducing the growth of trucks on roads and will deliver greater efficiency for the state’s container supply chains.
“Port Botany is uniquely the only port in Australia with on-dock rail within each container terminal, connected to an extensive network of metropolitan and regional intermodal terminals including by dedicated freight rail.”
Stage One of NSW Ports’ On-Dock Rail Investment Program was completed in late 2023.
NSW Ports will fund Stage Two through an increase of $4.28 per TEU in wharfage fees on all full imports and full exports from 1 July this year, which it says will be removed once the cost of the investment has been recovered.
DP World operates the 20-hectare Sydney Logistics Park within Port Botany, boasting a capacity of more than 18,500 TEU, offering services including warehousing, bonded storage quarantine activities, reefer monitoring and storage as well as container maintenance and repair.
