The Port of Melbourne is embarking on a $2.5 billion expansion plan in the next decade to cater for what it predicts will be capacity constraints, likely to arise from 2037.
Port of Melbourne (PoM) chief executive Saul Cannon said significant work was being undertaken in relation to the Port Capacity Enhancement Program (PCEP), to ensure the facility could meet the future demand of Victoria's growing economy.
"This includes targeting new container capacity at Webb Dock North in 2036, while providing a long term home for Tasmanian trades," Mr Cannon said.
"This proposed timing balances meeting demand for the benefit of Victoria and impacts on the broader supply chain.
"There is significantly more work to be done across all elements of new capacity planning."
The Tasmanian terminals would be relocated to Victoria dock, from Webb Dock East, he said.
Last financial year, trade through the port was valued at $148 billion, with agricultural products making up three of the top five commodity exports.
Grains comprised 94,403 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU containers) last financial year, while 59,648 containers of cotton, wool and textiles were also exported.
There were 45,993 containers of meat exported; last October they hit a record monthly high, at nearly 5000 TEUs.
In 2022 agricultural products made up the top two highest value exports from the port, accounting for nearly $11.7 billion of the total.
About 29 per cent of total exports were animal products, with 13pc being vegetables.
Mr Cannon said he was confident the Port Rail Transformation Project (PRTP), that has two 600-metre on-dock rail sidings adjacent to the Patrick Terminal, would help improve the shift of containers from road to rail.
"Currently, six percent of containers come on rail and that's principally regional exports," he said.
"The PRTP is part of the plan as to how we get that shift, of containerised freight, from road to rail - when you look at containers coming into Melbourne, 94 per cent are going within a 50 kilometre radius."
The PoM had invested more than $125 million in the PRTP as part of the wider Victorian government Port Rail Shuttle Network (PRSN)
"By increasing rail terminal capacity and improving rail terminal operations, there will be a number of efficiencies in the rail supply chain, which will benefit both import and export markets," he said.
"Moving freight by rail can move far more containers in a single trip than trucks can.
"For example, a 600 metre long train can carry 84 containers, compared with a B-Double truck which has an average capacity of three TEU.
"Our PRTP paves the way for increased connectivity between the port and regional rail networks, allowing for more agricultural exports to reach the port quicker and more sustainably."
Mr Cannon said the port also believed Inland Rail would enhance the connectivity of PoM to other regional parts of Australia, allowing for increased accessibility to agricultural exports from these regions.
"PoM is continually assessing the most efficient supply chains available for key commodities within regional areas, working closely with exporters," Mr Cannon said.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
