$9.5 million of rail and road upgrades are the first step towards the development of an intermodal and grain hub near Emerald, in Central Queensland.
Commercial real estate firm Colliers is selling packages of land around the future intermodal terminal site, which is being built alongside Queensland Rail’s Central West system.
The land is permitted for high impact industry, special industry, transport depots and service stations.
Graphic: CQ Inland Port
GrainCorp is already signed on as a key tenant, with the grain handling business planning to build a $20 million, state-of-the-art facility to better connect growers to the export market.
The State Government this week detailed a number of road and rail upgrades that will take place to prepare for the Inland Port’s construction.
$4.4 million is coming from the state, and a further $600,000 from the local council, to support the upgrades.
A 1.5-kilometre dead-end siding will be built, capable of handling 42 wagons.
The industrial access road to the future rail siding will be upgraded.
There will also be an upgrade to Bonnie Doon Road and its intersection with the Capricorn Highway, including the rail crossing there.
It’s estimated the work will create 28 jobs during construction.
The siding will give the port direct access to the Port of Gladstone.
Kerry Hayes, mayor of the Central Highlands Regional Council, said the sod turning at the site on August 30 represented a significant addition to infrastructure connectivity for the Central Highlands.
“The co-investment by this council with the state government shows how important this project is to the region and how a collaborative approach to vital investment provides great benefits for industry, agriculture and services,” Hayes said.
“The presence of GrainCorp as a major tenant with a state-of-the art grain handling facility, demonstrates that, with careful incentives from local and state governments, the private sector can confidently invest in the region, providing greater economy of scale and ultimately better returns to growers.”
GrainCorp Regional Manager Brad Foster said the company was proud to support growers in the Emerald region through its investment.
“We will deliver more efficient rail performance and improve the export competitiveness of high-quality Queensland grain,” Foster said.
CQ Inland Port managing director Alan Stent-Smith said projects of the scale and complexity of the proposed terminal “don’t happen overnight”.
“Without the strong support and collaboration between the state government, council, and GrainCorp our vision would not have become a reality,” Stent-Smith said. “We look forward to continuing to work with these partners as we forge ahead with the construction and delivery of stage 1 of the project.”