Trade and tourism are on the agenda as work continues to upgrade Broome’s port.
IT’S all hands on deck on site and in the Kimberley Ports Authority office to ensure Broome Port can cater to the West Kimberley’s growing export infrastructure demands.
The next tranche of work at the town’s industrial wharf will involve construction of new segments around the existing structure to extend its usable area.
Kimberley Ports Authority chief operating officer Scott Baker said tenders for stage three of the project – an amenity building at the end of the wharf – would be released later this year.
The port authority is working towards first-point-of-entry status for Broome Port, which recently had its restricted access classification eased.
The KPA has $6 million in state government funding to build infrastructure so Broome can cater to imports of cement and resources equipment, general cargo, and international cruise passengers.
All were affected when the port’s FPOE status was restricted following 2019 changes to biosecurity rules.
Work to bring the port up to the required standard is expected to take up to two years and will include a new processing facility for small cruise vessels.
Wyndham is yet to have its FPOE determination expanded. Mr Baker said KPA was undertaking a study to understand the logistics demands of the expanding Ord River cotton industry, for which Wyndham was the closest port.
Mr Baker also revealed Broome Port had finished a feasibility study into cold ironing for oil and gas vessels.
Cold ironing is when vessels berthed at port are connected to a landside power supply to run auxiliary engines, removing the need to run diesel generators while stationary, thus reducing pollution.
Next door to the Broome Port jetty, work is under way on the $200 million Kimberley Marine Support Base, for which TAMS Group won the construction contract in 2022.
KMSB director Michael Carey said the wharf would help bring more inbound cargo directly into Broome, instead of being shipped to Fremantle and trucked back.
Work on the wharf site is yet to begin, but finalisation of drawings and the building of laydown yards in the port precinct have been undertaken.
Overseas construction of the 165-metre floating wharf is under way and due for completion by mid-2025.
Construction of the causeway connecting the wharf to the shore is due to begin by September this year, with completion pencilled in to line up with installation of the wharf by mid-2025.
