New Container Terminal Planned for Newcastle, Australia

The CEO of Australia's Port of Newcastle, Craig Carmody, has announced his commitment to developing a world-class container terminal at the port.

The site chosen has the capacity for a two million TEU per annum container terminal, coupled with a shipping channel that can accommodate vessels up to 10,000 TEU, with the capability of larger vessels with some ancillary channel modifications.

The terminal is anticipated to boost jobs and business opportunities in the Hunter region of NSW and dramatically reduce the number of trucks on Sydney's roads through expanded use of Newcastle's rail connectivity.

Newcastle is the largest port on the east coast of Australia and the world's largest coal port, but Carmody says he is realistic about coal's declining prospects in decades to come. 

"As a global gateway for regional Australia, the Port is ready to go,” says Carmody. “We have cost effective landside connectivity, interested shippers and a deep channel port that is operating at less than half its capacity. With freight growth in NSW expected to double by 2040, a fully utilized Port of Newcastle with a world-class container terminal will provide efficiencies and competition to meet the future logistics and freight task.”

However, the plan has already hit a set back. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is currently investigating a constraint on the Port of Newcastle established by the NSW government which could restrict the development of a viable and competitive container terminal. The ACCC investigation is expected to be complete later this year. According to local media, it involves a deal between the government and port owners that forces Newcastle port to pay NSW Ports, which owns the Botany and Kembla Ports, for loss of container business if it handles more than 30,000 shipping containers a year. The deal was struck between 2012 and 2013 when the NSW government privatized several ports.