Port of Brisbane Gets New CEO & Deals With Aftermath of Flood

Q Port Holdings (QPH) announced today that it had appointed Russell Smith as Chief Executive Officer of Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL).

Russell has extensive port engineering, development and leadership experience both in Australia and internationally. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer (Transport) of Prime Infrastructure (recently acquired by Brookfield Asset Management) with responsibility for port and rail assets handling over 200 million tonnes (mtpa) and producing EBITDA of $550 million. (Please see below for further information.)

PBPL Chairman, Jeremy Maycock, said “we believe we are very fortunate that Russell will now bring his wealth of international experience to bear on the further development, growth and efficiency of the Port of Brisbane”.

Russell will commence as CEO on 3 May 2011, prior to which Alistair Baillie will continue to lead the port as Managing Director.

Flood Update

The port reopened for shipping in the Fisherman Island precincy last Wednesday, the 12th following devastating floods in the area. Port officials expect that by Wednesday January 19 the remaining berths up to the Gateway Bridge will reopen to commercial vessels.

An assessment of stability and debris removal is required before berths located upstream of the Gateway - including the Qld Bulk Terminal, Brisbane Cruise Terminal, Forgacs, and the Hamilton and Maritime berths. Strong currents in the channel have made efforts to survey the damage difficult. The Australian Navy will be assisting the port with completing proper assessments.

Because the Brisbane Cruise Berth at Hamilton remains closed, the Pacific Dawn will berth at the Fisherman Islands Multi-user Terminal this Saturday January 22.
The port is also working on a clearance schedule to reinstate the channel and berth back to their prior depths. The dredging is expected to be complete in several weeks. The current depths are expected to have only a minimal impact on ships entering the port.
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About the Port of Brisbane

The Port of Brisbane is Australia’s fastest growing container port, and the principal port for Queensland and northern New South Wales. The port handles over 900,000 teus and over 32 million tons of cargo each year, with 29 operating berths and over 7,500m of quayline. Over 50 shipping lines service the port, and each year the port handles over 2,400 ship visits.

Brisbane is closer to the Asia Pacific Rim than any other major Australian container port, being up to five sailing days closer to Asia than the ports of Sydney and Melbourne.

The Port of Brisbane is located at the mouth of the Brisbane River, and is managed and developed by the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL), under a 99-year lease from the Queensland Government. PBPL manages over 1,800 hectares of wet and dry land, with the main port complex at Fisherman Islands covering over 700 hectares. The port also has another 400 hectares of land for further development.

PBPL is owned by the Q Port Holdings (QPH) consortium, comprising: Global Infrastructure Partners; Industry Funds Management; QIC Global Infrastructure on behalf of its managed funds; and Tawreed Investments Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.