Sydney needs more intermodal facilities, not fewer: port

Sydney Ports has rejected claims made by the New South Wales Road Transport Association yesterday (Thursday, May 18) that plans for a $1.7bn intermodal terminal project to service Port Botany were not viable. The transport association was responding to a report commissioned by the Property Council of Australia that ranked a series of intermodal freight terminals for the port as the state’s top infrastructure need in the next 10 years. The association’s Hugh McMaster said yesterday that it was na&#238ve to think such large-scale projects would be commercially viable because there had only been limited interest from private groups in the idea. But Sydney Ports chief executive Greg Martin said this morning (Friday, May 19) that Sydney needed more terminals, not fewer. &#8220There are currently four operating intermodal terminals in Sydney, handling international freight from Port Botany: Camellia, Yennora, Villawood and Minto,&#8221 Mr Martin said. &#8220The need for further intermodal terminals will only grow with the increase in freight volumes being experienced in Sydney.&#8221 Mr Martin said new intermodal terminals would help to ensure the city met the state government’s plans for having rail handle 40% of the state’s freight needs. &#8220With the inevitable growth in road traffic over the next 20 years, maximising rail transport is the answer," he said. &#8220Why else would the Los Angeles community have spent over US$2bn to build the Alameda Rail Freight Corridor? "That is why we are planning to provide an intermodal logistics centre at Enfield &#8211 a development currently being assessed by the NSW Government.&#8221 The infrastructure report, released this week, found that about $18.5bn of spending on 10 major projects would be needed to bring NSW to an adequate standard. The study identified the top 20 infrastructure projects to be undertaken in NSW over the next 10 years. The three intermodal terminas to service Sydney’s Port Botany headed the list, with $4.3bn for the Pacific Highway (sixth) and $3.5bn for an inland freight route between Brisbane and Melbourne (15th) also mentioned. The report found that the state was experiencing &#8220significant shortfalls in infrastructure&#8221, which meant it was less competitive. &#8220NSW could experience a substantial gain in competitiveness, with an increase in export volumes of around 9%,&#8221 the report said. Such an upgrade would boost gross state product by $8.8bn a year, the report said.

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