Port work already started after deal signed
ENORMOUS steel pylons are already being manufactured as the construction tender is awarded for the $20 million facelift to the Port of Cairns.
The State Government will today announce the contract to modernise the port’s six wharves, more than 100 years after they were first built.
It marks the third and final stage of the $127 million Cairns Shipping Development dredging project to allow cruise ships up to 300m in length to dock for the first time.
Wharves 1-6 will each be upgraded with a new concrete jetty also being built along the front of Wharf 6 to replace the existing decayed timber wharf – although a portion of the old structure will be revealed and retained as a nod to its heritage value.
Cairns MP Michael Healy said the project was another win for the region after last week announcing the Far North had the lowest unemployment rate in Queensland.
“This project has stimulated jobs, forming part of the 12,000 created in the Far North over the last 12 months,” he said.
“Once complete it’ll mean more ships, more visitors, more tourism and business opportunities for the region.”
The contract has been awarded to Austral Construction, whose construction operations director Aaron Turner said many local suppliers would be tapped on the shoulder to help on the build.
“Austral Construction has nominated numerous local suppliers – except where specialist items are not available – which is the flow-on we want for local business and job opportunities,” he said
The upgrade is expected to be completed by late-April next year.
Ports North chairman Russell Beer said the entire $127 million shipping project was now “well and truly over the hump”.
“The supply of steel piles worth $3.5 million for the wharf works was also recently awarded to J Steel Australasia Pty Ltd and production is well underway,” he said.