Inland hub needed in Queensland’s southeast: council

<p>Southeast Queensland &#8220desperately&#8221 needs an inland port to ease congestion at and around the Port of Brisbane, and to ensure the state remains an internationally cost competitive exporter, the Sea Freight Council of Queensland claims. </p> <p>The dry port would be attractive in terms of supply chain costs and would compliment the Port of Brisbane operations by negating many of the in-built inefficiencies evident in the sea freight chain at the port’s terminal facilities.</p> <p>The council has called on the state government and transport industry to collaborate on a dry port or inland intermodal hub in a public private partnership. </p> <p>The project, which could cost more than $200m, would deliver one of the most important pieces of infrastructure to be built in southeast Queensland over the next decade, the council’s chief executive officer, Trevor Jorgensen, said.</p> <p>&#8220The freight task in Queensland has doubled in the past two decades and is likely to double again in the next decade,&#8221 Mr Jorgensen said. </p> <p>&#8220But, we’re not equipped to handle the extra load with traffic congestion increasing and productivity struggling to meet demands at container terminals. </p> <p>&#8220We need to look at building an efficient inland port to ensure Queensland remains competitive in the global export trade.&#8221</p> <p>A dry port located away from the suburbs and heavy traffic arteries would provide an intermediary step in the supply chain, he said. </p> <p>Goods could be stacked and stored until they could be moved in an orderly fashion to the port, usually by train, to coincide with the arrival of the exporting ship. The reverse applied for imports.</p> <p>The system would help ease traffic congestion to and from the port, improve operational productivity and allow transport companies to plan the movement of goods over a 24-hour cycle. </p> <p>&#8220Inland ports have successfully enhanced the productivity and efficiency of supply chains around the world,&#8221 Mr Jorgensen said. </p> <p>&#8220It’s time we evaluated the concept in relation to the improvements it would bring to southeast Queensland.&#8221</p> <br />