Port interest in vacant Ford site
Car maker to sell prime North Geelong land
GEELONG Port has confirmed its interest in the old Ford site as the motor company gets set to start negotiations with potential buyers.
Ford Australia closed its expressions of interest process at the end of last month, with the company reporting strong interest in the Geelong and Broadmeadows sites tipped to sell for a total of more than $75 million.
The futures of the North Geelong site and former casting plant on Seabeach Pde have been in limbo since Ford stopped using them for production more than two years ago.
The land presents a prime opportunity for Geelong Port, which has 30ha of vacant space but has been attracting new industries and sees the encroachment of other users on the fringe of the precinct as limiting its long-term growth potential.
Geelong Port and the Geelong Manufacturing Council are understood to be among objectors to the proposed seven-storey Power Station redevelopment in Mackey St as part of the Pivot City Innovation District.
Ford would not reveal the nature of the parties that had registered interest in the sale, but the landmark Melbourne Rd site presents opportunities for large retail and industry.
At the Committee for Geelong annual general meeting on Tuesday night, Geelong Port chief executive Brett Winter confirmed involvement in the expression of interest process.
“We do need to look at those options (at Ford). Of course they are commercial options, and there is going to be other people interested in those parcels as well,” Mr Winter said. “But we do need to look at those options as far as creating a precinct long term.”
He said Geelong Port was pursuing businesses to grow beyond the 12 million tonnes of product a year it currently handled.
The port was positioned to pick up bulk trade displaced by the Port of Melbourne’s development of container trade and was developing promising relationships with potential Tasmanian-based industries.
“There was an economic study done by the Victorian Regional Channels Authority in 2015 that forecast the (Geelong) port’s trade will rise to around about 18 million tonnes by 2035,” he said.
“Based on our current trajectory, we are set to achieve that 10 years ahead of schedule.”
He said improved freight connections by rail, road and through deepening the channel were crucial for the port’s com- petitiveness and growth.
Ford Australia communications manager Martin Gunsberg said there had been strong buyer interest in its Geelong and Broadmeadows sites.
“The details and number of EOI submissions are commercial in confidence,” Mr Gunsberg said.
“Having operated in these communities for decades, we will look to balance a range of factors, including environmental considerations, planned use and community impact when considering potential buyers.”