A project to accommodate larger ships at the Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) at the Port of Melbourne, Australia, is on schedule to be operational by 2024. Upon completion, the AUD235 million expansion will enable VICT to handle two 336-meter vessels simultaneously.
“Once the project is complete, our operations will expand from five quay cranes to eight, adding three new-generation cranes, 10 new automatic stacking cranes (ASC) and 50 percent increased yard capacity,” said VICT Chief Executive Officer Bruno Porchietto. “VICT will be able to handle neo-Panamax vessels of up to 14,000 TEUs, providing shipping lines with the opportunity to leverage economies of scale and thereby reduce supply chain costs – something that isn’t available at the Port of Melbourne’s Swanson dock terminals.”
The expansion is being delivered in two phases, the first of which is on track for completion in late 2023. Phase 1 will increase VICT’s capacity by 25% to 1.25 million TEUs and include two new quay cranes along with six new ASCs. The third quay crane and the other four ASCs are part of Phase 2, which will be scheduled for completion in line with market demand.
The terminal expansion was envisioned by VICT’s parent company, International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), when the Philippine-based global port operator won the concession for the Melbourne-based terminal in 2014. It forms a key part of the Port of Melbourne’s 2050 Port Development Strategy.
Under a separate proposal from ICTSI, the business has publicly shared a AUD500 million-plus expansion of Webb Dock that it believes would provide the lowest cost, most efficient and environmentally sustainable long-term solution for additional capacity at the Port of Melbourne. ICTSI believes the proposal would be a key facilitator for the continued growth of the Victorian economy.
ICTSI has already invested more than AUD700 million in VICT’s operations, making it one of the largest nongovernment infrastructure investors in Australia.
