Port growth reaffirms Australia's Coalition Government plans to expand Melbourne's capacity
Premier Ted Baillieu and Minister for Ports Denis Napthine announce trade figures at the Port of Melbourne surged in the 2011-12 financial year with a 9.1 per cent overall increase at Australasia’s busiest container and general cargo port.
Mr Baillieu said in the 2011-12 financial year total port trade grew to 87 million revenue tonnes up from 79.7 million revenue tonnes in the previous year. “This includes a 7.8 per cent increase in total container throughput with the Port of Melbourne handling 2.58 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, smashing the previous year’s record of 2.39 million TEUs,”
Dr Napthine said the Port Expansion Project would ensure the Port of Melbourne continued to be a key economic asset for the state for many decades to come. “The Port of Melbourne is an absolutely critical component of the Victorian economy, directly supporting about 14,000 jobs and many more indirect jobs throughout the state.
Port of Melbourne Chief Executive Stephen Bradford said “Strong growth presents new challenges which is why PoMC is preparing to deliver the largest landside port development project in a generation to expand the port’s container and automotive capacity.”