Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey MP, visited the crew of the backhoe dredger Woomera yesterday.
The Port of Townsville Limited and the Hall Contracting Pty Ltd dredger in North Queensland are widening the channel to the port so larger ships can dock directly into North Queensland.
According to Bailey, this work will eliminate import and export costs of going to Brisbane and freighting up the Bruce Highway.
The dredging, which began in mid-March 2022, is expected to take two years and upon completion, ships up to 300 metres long will be able to safely access the port, instead of bypassing Townsville.
All dredge material removed as part of the channel upgrade project is being brought back to land for placement in the 62ha reclamation area.
In total, about 3.4 million cubic metres of material will be removed from the 14.9km shipping channel.