A new freight terminal in the Perth suburb of Kenwick is set to cut the number of truck journeys on the city’s roads, with an estimated 135,000 truck journeys per year set to be cut thanks to the facility.
The $25 million terminal is a joint venture between the Australian federal ($5 million) and Western Australian ($5 million) and Arc Infrastructure ($15 million).
The terminal will move an estimated 200,000 containers annually between Fremantle Port, the future Westport and Kenwick and will be located within Arc Infrastructure’s existing rail freight facility.
The project supports the state government’s goal of moving 20 per cent of Western Australia’s container freight via rail, and all fully loaded containers that move between Kenwick IMT and Fremantle Port will be eligible for the state government’s $50 per twenty-foot equivalent unit container rail subsidy.
Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King says the new terminal will help continue the growth of one of Australia’s most crucial freight markets.
“Western Australia continues to be a big driver of the national economy, and ensuring freight movement is as efficient as possible will continue to grow the economy and create new jobs for Western Australians,” King says.
“The new Kenwick IMT will support the movement of up to 200,000 shipping containers each year and play critical role in Western Australia’s future freight logistics network, alongside Westport.”
The Westport program’s preferred designs were released in November last year, and they include a new port in Kwinana, south of Perth, and an upgraded road and rail freight network and intermodal terminals at Kenwick, Kewdale and Forrestfield.
WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti says the opening of the Kenwick IMT is a step in the right direction for the Westport project.
“Our Westport planning has shown that containerised freight will grow significantly in the coming decades and the Kenwick IMT gives us a welcome capacity injection into our network,” Saffioti says.
“Together with other hubs in Kewdale and Forrestfield, it is an important part of our landside logistics that will complement a world-leading and sustainable port in Kwinana.
“Hundreds of thousands of shipping containers can be moved via rail through this facility, freeing up our road network and establishing a logistics hub to support our state’s long-term freight transport needs.
“The opening of the Kenwick IMT is a great step forward in our government’s plans to build an efficient and resilient supply chain that can stand up to future demand.”
Arc Infrastructure CEO Murray Cook says the Kenwick terminal within his company’s facility will have a marked change on how freight is moved in Western Australia.
“Kenwick is the first new IMT in line with that strategy and will have an immediate and profound impact on the capacity to move containers through Fremantle Port and onto rail and support the future Westport.”
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