Name and Location
Port of Melbourne capacity expansion project, Australia.

Client
Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Project Description
The project will reconfigure and redevelop Webb Dock, returning it to its original role as an international container-handling facility. This new container-handling terminal will be able to handle the equivalent of at least one-million containers a year.

The project includes the creation of an automotive facility on the western side of Webb Dock.

This state-of-the-art facility will deliver additional dock capacity for importing and exporting vehicles. The works will expand the automotive capacity to handle more than 600 000 vehicles a year and will also deliver on-site predelivery inspection facilities, where vehicles can be fitted with custom options and prepared for dealerships.

Other works around the Webb Dock precinct include additional screening and landscaping, dock deepening, minor modifications and improvements to nearby parklands, provision for on-site empty container stacking and the construction of noise walls to reduce the impacts of the operations on nearby communities.

At Swanson Dock, the port’s existing container hub and the country’s busiest, the focus will be on providing opportunities for enhancing capacity expansion through a range of works, including reconfiguring internal road linkages.

Value
$1.6-billion.

Duration
Dock deepening at Webb Dock is scheduled to start in mid-2014.

The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

Latest Developments
McConnell Dowell has been selected to construct the new automotive wharf and waterside infrastructure at the Port of Melbourne’s Webb Dock.

The contractor will build a new 920 m wharf at Webb Dock West that will service the expanded automotive terminal.

In addition to the automotive works, the contractor will expedite the rebuilding of existing wharves at Webb Dock East. This will enable the appointment and commissioning of Melbourne’s third international container terminal, which is expected to be operational by late 2016.

The works will include low-impact dredging to deepen the shipping berths at Webb Dock, removing an estimated 2.3-million cubic metres of material.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
McConnell Dowell (automotive wharf and waterside infrastructure).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Port of Melbourne Corporation, email capacity@portofmelbourne.com.
McConnell Dowell, tel +61 3 9368 3900 or fax +61 3 9369 6569.