A proposal by a group of Great Southern farmers to export specialised grain from Bunbury appears to have boosted long-held aspirations to provide a container handling facility at the port.
A proposal by a group of Great Southern farmers to export specialised grain from Bunbury appears to have boosted long-held aspirations to provide a container handling facility at the port.
In a recent announcement outlining its trade policy, the Gallop Government made an $11.5 million commitment to containerisation at Bunbury.
The money will pay for a container crane and hard-stand facility, but is contingent on an economic container proposal at the regional port.
The farming group is proposing to ship between 5,000 and 7,000 containers of specialised grain a year to a large Malaysian poultry breeder.
The farmers are understood to have formed a company to ship the grain and are in the process of acquiring a ship, despite tight global supply.
Shipments will be made on a fortnightly basis with a view to increase that to weekly shipments.
The Government’s pledge marks somewhat of turnaround in fortunes for Bunbury, with the Government previously cool on Bunbury’s bid to become the state’s second container port.
Rather, planning has been under way for almost three years to construct a large, $400 million to $500 million overflow container facility at Kwinana.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan denied appealing to the marginal Bunbury electorate in the lead up to the state election.
“This is not a change in direction because of the election,” she said.
Ms MacTiernan said it did not make economic sense to dedicate Bunbury as Western Australia’s second container port, however recent developments in the state’s specialised grain industry had provided some scope for containerisation at the regional port.
“Trucking 90 per cent of the containers back to Perth doesn’t make for good economics,” she said.
Ms MacTiernan said a proposal by a group of farmers had been in progress since a chance encounter in Albany two years ago.
“I see this as a chance to bring two of our strengths together … agriculture and high-end science to develop specialist product,” she said.
Ms MacTiernan said as soon as the company acquired a ship the leasing arrangements over the proposed hard-stand would be worked out.
Bunbury Port CEO Dom Figliomeni, who recently announced his resignation after almost 12 years at the port, welcomed the announcement.
“There is definitely a commitment,” Mr Figliomeni said
Large Japanese shipper K-Line is also understood to have indicated interest in containerisation at Bunbury.
The international shipper runs a container service from Fremantle and the eastern states and regularly travels past Bunbury.
United Farmers Co-operative general manager sales and operations and WA Shippers Council member, Phil Nixon, said subject to volumes a Bunbury container operation would likely appeal to other container shippers.
However, industry sources doubted the Government’s $11.5 million commitment would be sufficient funding to construct a container crane and hard-stand facility.
