Kwinana port plan approval

A commercial port at Kwinana, backed by BGC boss Len Buckeridge, has finally gained environmental approval from the State Government, four years after the project company signed a contract with the government of Richard Court.

Environmental approval is a major milestone for the James Point project, which has been dogged by controversy from the outset.

Fremantle Ports, which is proposing to build a competing island port in Cockburn Sound, now faces a more complex planning task.

In particular, Fremantle Ports has released four development options for its port, two of which require access to land reserved for the private port.

James Point Pty Ltd secured the prime port development site in the heart of the Kwinana industrial strip through a process conducted by the former government.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan believes the James Point proposal was never subject to appropriate environmental or planning assessment.

She has also criticised the terms of the James Point contract, which runs for 50 years and involves payment of nominal rent.

Environment Minister Judy Edwards last week granted environmental approval to stage one of the James Point project, which involves development of a $50 million wharf and breakwater near Rio Tinto’s Hismelt pig iron plant.

James Point chairman Hans Moonen said he was pleased to have passed this milestone.

“It’s an important one to get behind us,” he said. “It’s been a very, very long road.”

The Environmental Protection Authority originally recommended approval of the James Point project in October 2002, and it has taken another two years to deal with various appeals.

The proposed James Point wharf would compete with the 40-year old Kwinana bulk jetty, which is being upgraded by Fremantle Ports at a cost of $30 million.

Current users of the bulk jetty include BGC. The James Point wharf would also allow for the transfer of live sheep trade from Fremantle’s inner harbour.

Mr Moonen said James Point Pty Ltd had plans to extend its wharf to include a container terminal, deep water berths for bulk loads, and land-backed wharfs for Hismelt.

In contrast to past practice the State Government did not publicise the granting of environmental approval.

Last November, for instance, Dr Edwards issued a media statement to explain that more work was needed on the James Point proposal to assess issues such as public access to the beach for horse exercising, and noise and odours from the live sheep trade.

The next step for James Point is planning approval, which could take two years.

The long approval process poses questions about how long it might take Fremantle Ports to obtain approval for its much more extensive island port.

Fremantle Ports chief executive Kerry Sanderson said a five-year period had been provided for the planning process.

“We have allowed this time because of the complexity of the issues,” she told WA Business News.

Mr Moonen believes the Fremantle Ports proposal does not represent good planning.

“The sheer scale of the development, its location on sensitive marine habitat, the restrictive nature of the causeway transport link and the lack of a land bank for supporting industry … all raise serious questions as to the viability of the basic concept,” he said.

Mr Moonen said he was confident James Point Pty Ltd, which has six shareholders, including BGC and listed engineering company Worley, would be able to finance its port.

“We have had strong interest from other groups that want to invest in the project,” he said.

The backdrop to both port proposals is the growth in container trade, which means the ‘inner harbour’ at Fremantle will reach capacity in the next 10 to 15 years.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Bill Sashegyi said extra competition would be welcomed.

“From an industry point of view, the introduction of competition would be a healthy development,” he said.