Bomen Industrial Precinct's next steps include enabling infrastructure and rail siding
The first sod has been turned on construction of the next stage of the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RIFL) hub.
This upgrade for the 60-hectare Bomen Industrial Precinct in Wagga Wagga will provide the precinct with enabling infrastructure and a 4.9-kilometre master rail siding and container transfer terminal.
Preliminary site preparation work and earthwork activities are already under way, ahead of the construction of power, stormwater and sewerage connections to the industrial precinct and the laying of rail tracks and turnouts.
The $43.7 million investment from the NSW Government combined with significant investment from Wagga Wagga City Council and commercial partner Visy Logistics will create vital jobs in the Riverina.
NSW deputy premier John Barilaro, NSW Nationals member of the NSW Legislative Council Wes Fang and Wagga Wagga City Council mayor Greg Conkey today visited the precinct for the official sod turn.
“This precinct will make Wagga Wagga a major player in domestic and international freight export, making the town even more attractive to local and international businesses,” Barilaro says.
“This intermodal facility will be a world-class business hub servicing the region’s advanced manufacturing, recycling and renewables industries and help local businesses reap the benefits of the Inland Rail and Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct.”
In August 2020, Wagga Wagga City Council endorsed entering an agreement for lease with Visy Logistics to facilitate a public private partnership between the two parties and provide a formal agreement for Visy Logistics to operate and manage the RIFL hub freight terminal and master siding.
Funding for Stage 2 ($14.4 million), the construction of the master rail siding and the intermodal freight terminal, was later announced via the Transport for NSW Fixing Country Rail program and includes:
- Rail infrastructure including a master siding servicing the intermodal terminal
- Installation of turnouts off the Main Southern Railway Line to facilitate construction of the RIFL Hub Master Siding
- Intermodal terminal for the transfer of containers between road and rail development.
Grant funding ($29.2 million) for Stage 3 of RiFL – the Bomen Industrial Precinct adjacent to RIFL consisting of a 60 hectares industrial subdivision, RIFL Road and associated services and fibre to the premises within the existing Bomen Industrial Park – was recently approved from the state government’s Growing Local Economies fund.
Regional transport and roads minister Paul Toole says the RIFL hub, the Inland Rail and the Wagga Wagga Special Activation Precinct will work hand-in-hand to fast-track access to national and international markets for regional businesses and products.
Further background on the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics hub, here
“When completed, this hub will give regional businesses ready and cost-effective access to markets across Australia and around the world, and there’s never been a more important time as we recover from drought, bushfires and the Covid-19 pandemic,” Toole says.
“It’s also going to reduce the number of trucks moving through the Wagga Wagga central business district, giving local roads back to the local community.”
The Bomen Enabling Roads project ($35 million), which improved the Higher Mass Limit (HML) road network was completed and officially opened in November 2017.
The Eunony Bridge upgrade ($10.6 million), which provides a new route for HML vehicles, avoiding the CBD and reducing travel time, was completed and the bridge opened in September 2020.
Conkey says it is an exciting time for Wagga Wagga to finally see the start of site works on the groundbreaking investment in the city and its surrounds.
“It has been 15 years in the making and it is an example of a genuine partnership between state and local government and industry,” Conkey says.
“The RIFL hub terminal will be the core for future growth and expansion in the Bomen Special Activation Precinct, generating up to 6,000 jobs in this region, and has the potential to drive the economic future of the city for decades.”
Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2022.