By the State Government of Victoria
Early works are now underway to build an Intermodal Freight Hub at the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ).
The works will see five serviced lots built at the site – in preparation for major construction to take place on the freight hub next year.
The Freight Hub will be constructed on the regional city’s north-west fringe, adjacent to Ballarat Airport, the Western Freeway, existing broad-gauge rail infrastructure and the Ballarat Link Road – giving freight and logistics tenants access to road, rail and aviation infrastructure all from the one location.
Once complete, the freight hub will have the capacity to handle 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per annum to be railed to port.
The terminal, adjacent to the broad-gauge Ballarat-Ararat rail line, will also have three rail sidings capable of accommodating 600m-long freight trains and a substantial concrete hardstand for the efficient loading, unloading and storage of export shipping containers.
Up to 300,000 tonnes of grain per annum is expected to be railed to the terminal where new and existing businesses at BWEZ will process the grain into product such as flour.
The $23.5 million Intermodal Freight Hub is being delivered by the Victorian and Australian Governments – with the Victorian Government contributing $14.4 million and the Australian Government $9.1 million.
An expression of interest for an operator for the site will be released soon.
BWEZ is a $30 million joint initiative between the Victorian Government and the City of Ballarat. The 438-hectare project is being delivered by Development Victoria on behalf of Regional Development Victoria.
Victoria’s Minister for Ports and Freight, Melissa Horne, commented: ‘’Ballarat West Employment Zone will become the engine room for jobs and economic growth in the region over the next 20 years – and the development of the Intermodal Freight Hub at the site is a great step forward to make this happen. This is another example of how we’re putting the infrastructure in place to make rail freight more efficient – the Intermodal Freight Hub at the Ballarat West Employment Zone will make it easier to transport product to port, as well as drive jobs and economic growth in the region for years to come.”
