Hodgett: New Investment to Lift Melbourne Port to New Heights (Australia)

Future trade growth at the Port of Melbourne has spurred significant private investment in the port as international stevedore DP World commissioned its new Post-Panamax ship-to-shore crane today.

Minister for Ports David Hodgett today joined DP World Melbourne to officially inaugurate the new crane that will improve efficiency for the company to handle growing trade.

“This investment by DP World is a clear sign that industry is on board with the $1.6 billion Port Capacity Project that will truly lift the port to new heights,” Mr Hodgett said.

“The Port of Melbourne’s container trade has grown by 150% from one million containers in 1997 to more than 2.5 million today. Future forecast trade growth makes the expansion of Webb Dock and Swanson Dock critical for our city and our state.

“The expansion of Swanson Dock will allow for an additional one million containers to meet trade demands for at least the next decade, and the new crane being commissioned today shows that industry is partnering with government for the long haul.

“DP World’s Melbourne terminal is its largest and busiest operation in Australia and an invaluable strategic asset for the company which moved 26.6 million containers across the globe in the first half of this year.

“It gives me great pleasure to stand side-by-side with DP World Australia’s Managing Director Ganesh Raj to witness an occasion which marks the continued growth of the industry. I look forward to a long partnership as we continue to develop and improve the nation’s leading port.”

DP World Australia Managing Director Ganesh Raj said the addition of a new Liebherr STS Crane to the existing crane fleet will help DP World improve productivity at West Swanson Terminal as well as facilitating container growth at Australia’s largest container port.

“Capable of lifting two 20 foot containers simultaneously, the crane has a waterside outreach of 50 metres, a rail gauge of 25.3 metres and a landside backreach of 20 metres. The Safe Working Load (S.W.L.) of the crane is 65 tonnes under twin lift spreader with a lift height of 38 metres under spreader,” Mr Raj said.

“DP World worked closely with a special project team from Liebherr, and their local contractors, to assemble the crane safely and securely on site at West Swanson Terminal. The commencement of this newly assembled Crane 1 into our operations also marks the beginning of a new and innovative era of crane deployment to our region.”

[mappress]

Press Release, September 6, 2013