DP World and NSW Ports are investing A$400 million (US$249 million) to expand the rail terminal at Port Botany in Sydney. This project aims to enhance logistics operations and strengthen the city's role as an important hub for international trade.
NSW Ports is contributing A$148 million for the new facility, which will support both the Container Terminal and the Logistics Park. This investment aligns with a global trend of locating logistics facilities close to major ports.
Construction is set to begin in June and will take about two years to complete. The expansion will include five new rail sidings to accommodate 600-metre-long regional trains.
"Our investment in this new port-centric logistics infrastructure will deliver more capacity, superior agility, seamless integration of processes, increased productivity and added reliability," said Nicolaj Noes, executive vice president, Oceania, DP World.
"We cannot wait for our present and future customers to reap the benefits of this world-class facility, which accelerates the shift of freight from road to rail while reducing carbon emissions and improving Sydney's air quality at the same time," he added.
Marika Calfas, CEO of NSW Ports, noted that this collaboration with DP World to deliver a new, enhanced, rail terminal continues the growth of on-dock rail capacity at Port Botany to service the state's import and export trade.
"This new rail terminal will enable more containers to be moved by rail, reducing the growth of trucks on roads and will deliver greater efficiency for the state's container supply chains," he said.
Calfas noted that Port Botany is uniquely the only port in Australia with on-dock rail within each container terminal, connected to an extensive network of metropolitan and regional intermodal terminals, including dedicated freight rail.
DP World is making a new investment at Port Botany to enhance its rail capabilities globally. This move is part of a larger strategy to strengthen its position in the global supply chain.
It said that its customers will have access to intermodal rail services that connect its operations in various regions, including Europe, North America, South America, Africa, India, and the Middle East. A freight train service between Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali in Dubai is also set to start soon.
DP World cited the benefits of the investment including enhanced capacity with the annual rail capacity for DP World's terminal will more than double, increasing from 400,000 TEUs to 1 million TEUs.
The rail system will also help push sustainability with the reduction in truck movements and carbon emissions.
Port Botany is New South Wales' container port and has Australia's largest common user bulk liquids facility, handling 2.8 million TEUs annually.
Within the port, DP World operates the 20-hectare Sydney Logistics Park, the largest in the city with a capacity of more than 18,500 TEUs, offering services including warehousing, bonded storage quarantine activities, reefer monitoring and storage, as well as container maintenance and repair.
Further inland, DP World partners with Stockland to operate a contract logistics hub at Yennora Intermodal Terminal, one of the largest logistics facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.
Earlier this year, DP World announced the launch of a new rail service at the Terminal, enabling it to offer its customers a fully integrated supply chain service.
