Multi-modal rail works on track for completion
WORK on an innovative multi-modal rail development set to open up Aurizon’s Port Services in Townsville for the import and export of precious commodities, is set to complete soon.
The expansion began last year when the first stage of the expansion, including a 10,000 square metre concrete area with capacity for 1,200 shipping containers.
That stage of the development cost $2m, while the current stage, involving an additional two kilometres of railway line and other efficiency upgrades, will cost $5m.
The upgrades will make it possible for the Port of Townsville to be directly connected to the minerals province in North-west Queensland, Group Executive Clay McDonald said.
“That rich mineral province provides so much in resources for this region and for Queens
land,” Mr Mcdonald said.
“Once it’s operational, it removes a leg from the Stuart terminal down here to the port and therefore removes some of the inefficiencies and the equivalent of about 35–40 large
truck movements for each train that we run down here.
“That provides safety, environmental, efficiency and productivity benefits to our miners and to our customers.”
Resources Minister and
Townsville MP Scott Stewart said the upgraded and expanded terminal would make transporting resources cheaper.
“Townsville has the largest commercial port in North Australia, it’s important that we get
this right,” Mr Stewart said.
“There’ll be greater productivity through the transport system that we have from our North-west minerals province. The critical minerals now are in huge demand as the world continues to decarbonise their economies.
“It currently costs about $5 per ton to move that product from it’s staging area into the port, this will reduce cost and increase the productivity.”
The project, which involved 18 workers from A Gabrielli Constructions, will not only be used to transport commodities like copper, lead and zinc but also items such as vanadium and high-grade phosphate.
Mr Stewart said the state government had a vision to ensure that North Queensland was ready to embrace a future resources boom.
“That future demand that we’re seeing, and all the predictions are telling us, it is absolutely going to skyrocket, it is going to be the next big boom – we saw the boom with gold, with coal, with LNG, this will be the next new one, which is critical minerals,” he said.
Work on phase two of the works began in June and is expected to finalise in late 2022.