Westport plan revealed but costs unclear

A preferred site and location have been revealed for the state’s multi-billion-dollar Westport development, but exact costs and revised project timelines remain unclear.

The government revealed plans to build Westport adjacent to the shore of the existing Kwinana bulk shipping terminal ahead of a business case scheduled for release in mid-2024.

The selected Westport design will incorporate a new container terminal and breakwater, and facilitate larger ships than at the existing Fremantle terminal it will ultimately replace.

It will also incorporate significant upgrades to key freight routes, including the extension of Anketell Road and upgrades to Kwinana Freeway – which will be widened between Anketell and Russell Roads – and Roe Highway.

Freight rail between the container terminal and Cockburn will be duplicated to reduce road traffic, with upgrades to key intermodal terminals planned at Kenwick and Forrestfield alongside the delivery of a new logistics hub at Kewdale.

The intermodal terminals will facilitate the transfer of freight from road to rail.

The site was chosen following 18 months of design and consultation of key stakeholders, with investment to be made to future-proof the state’s container trade into the future.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti said Westport was a once-in-a-century project, and that it was important to get the specifics right.

“This is ... a significant day in which we can now give industry certainty around the location of the new port,” she said.

“It also gives industry certainty about landside logistics, and how we expect this new port to be operating.

“This is very much a next step forward, and a major milestone in building a new port.”

Westport costings and delivery timeframes will be revealed in the project’s business case scheduled for release in late July or August next year, but the project will not be built by the previously mooted timeline at the end of 2032.

It is also likely to cost more than previously estimated $4 billion, pitched by the government in 2020.

“We’re revisiting all aspects of the budget,” Ms Saffioti said.

“That budget was done before COVID, before the supply chain issues, and also things like the breakwater.

“We’ll outline our full cost and operational aspects of the project in July.”

She said the government planned for the port to be government owned but may seek private sector financing to assist in the development of landside logistics.

The transport minister also confirmed the intention to shift all container trade to Kwinana in one move, rather than following a staggered approach, which was deemed too challenging.

The government will also continue its push for greater freight onto rail transport of containers, which currently sits at around 20 per cent of all container movements.

Ms Saffioti said the government was aiming for a 30 per cent target.

Once built, Westport will absorb all container trade from the existing container port at Fremantle, removing capacity restrictions on future container trade.

Modelling has previously suggested the existing port and its surrounding roads will become significantly constrained in the decades to come.

The state is preparing an economic development strategy and land use plan for the transformation of Fremantle’s inner harbour following the move to Kwinana.