Another important step has been taken towards improving South Australia's freight infrastructure with the expansion of the Bowmans Intermodal between Port Wakefield and Balaklava, about 100 kilometres north of Adelaide, now completed.
Representing Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese at today's opening ceremony Wakefield MP Nick Champion said the newly expanded facility is able to handle twice the volume of freight as before, an upgrade that will ensure it remains competitive.
“The Bowmans Intermodal is yet another example of Federal Labor investing in a national freight and logistics strategy that aims to build seamless connections between road and rail freight,” said Mr Champion.
“Overtime this will mean up to 17,000 fewer truck journeys a year to the Port of Adelaide, which translates into safer roads and fewer harmful carbon emissions.
“The expansion project will improve traffic flows and marshalling so as to make it faster and more efficient to transfer containers from trucks to rail.”
South Australian Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said the project involved the construction of a new 10,000m² hardstand floor and the upgrade of the existing one so that heavy freight containers can be stored and stacked.
“The project also involved the installation of five two-stand outlets to keep refrigerated containers cold while on site, as well as the provision of new lighting and pedestrian walkways,” said Mr Conlon.
“Over 30 jobs were created for the construction phase and a further 20 full time jobs will be needed on site, to manage the day to day operations.”
The project was jointly funded by the Federal Labor ($2 million) and South Australian ($268,000) governments as well as Balco Australia Pty Ltd ($1.8 million).
The Federal Labor Government is investing some $118 million in a series of intermodal terminals across the country to improve transport productivity for our regional industries and exporters.