THE PORT of Hastings corporation announced yesterday (23 July) the appointment of Matt Thorpe as its new chief executive officer.
The corporation says Mr Thorpe brings with him more than 30 years of experience leading teams in the design, construction, and operations of public infrastructure projects.
The Port of Hastings is located within Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula at Western Port, a large tidal bay that opens into the bass strait.
Most recently, Mr Thorpe was the executive director of the Level Crossing Removal Project, a Victorian Government project aimed at removing more than a hundred dangerous and congested level crossings across Melbourne.
In a social media announcement, Port of Hastings said, “Matt will guide the port’s ongoing operations, including the development of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal to support the construction of the state’s first offshore wind farms”.
Last year, the Port of Hastings was selected by the Victorian government as the location to establish the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal, an assembly port to assist the construction of the state’s first offshore wind farms.
If constructed, the terminal would receive, store, and assemble offshore wind components before being transported to offshore wind farms off Victoria’s coast for installation.
Attributes such as large areas of appropriately zoned land close to deep water channels, and proximity to the proposed offshore wind farms off the Gippsland and Southern Ocean coasts made the port an attractive location for the new terminal, according to the Victorian government.
In January this year, the federal government rejected the state government’s proposal on the grounds that the terminal at the Port of Hastings would harm wetlands and marine wildlife.
Victoria’s premier Jacinta Allan said her government was reviewing the decision and was confident the proposal could still be approved.
