$135 million Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre comprises 10-hectare site
Vaughan Constructions and Woolworths are partnering on the development of a new $135 million, temperature controlled, distribution centre at Truganina in Melbourne.
The new facility, to be known as the Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre (MFDC), will cover a massive 4.5 hectares under roof with a further 5.7 hectares of hardstand on a 10-hectare site.
The facility’s 45,152 sqm built area includes 26,298 sqm of warehousing, a further 5,631 sqm of ambient warehouse, a 195 sqm operations office, and a 1,885 sqm administrative office.
Hardstand of 57,283 sqm will include loading docks, parking, and truck wash and maintenance areas.
The MFDC will be co-located with Woolworths’ meat supplier Hilton Meats’ production facility, and replace the current operations at the Mulgrave Produce DC.
The $135m investment on the MFDC is majority funded by landowner Charter Hall, with Woolworths signing an initial 15-year lease on the site.
The MFDC is also targeting a Five Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, with a solar panel system on the roof, charge points for electric trucks, and fuel savings of more than 400,000 litres each year from transport efficiencies.
The Mulgrave Produce DC will continue to operate until the MFDC opens in late 2020.
“The close proximity and connection to Hilton Meats next door, and to produce markets, will ensure Woolworths produce will be delivered faster and more efficiently to stores right across Victoria,’’ Vaughan Constructions director Eric Law says.
Read about Vaughan’s deal with Kuehne and Nagel, here
The commissioning of the MFDC will take around 600 truck movements off the West Gate each week as Truganina is located closer to more Woolworths suppliers than Mulgrave. Co-location with Hilton Meats will take a further 3,000 truck movements off Melbourne roads each year as it eliminates shuttle runs between Mulgrave and Truganina.
“At one-and-a-half times the size of the MCG field, the distribution centre will provide a significant uplift in capacity to support our continued growth in Victoria,” Woolworths chief supply chain officer Paul Graham says.
“We’re proud to be investing in a best-in-class supply chain network in Victoria – delivering fresher food to our customers, taking trucks off Melbourne’s roads, and creating hundreds of new jobs.”
Construction is expected to be completed late 2020.