Salta Properties will work with the Australian federal government and state of Victoria to develop the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal, the largest of its kind in Australia.
In a statement, the company said the government will jointly invest A$28 million ($20 million) to connect rail to Salta’s site boundary as part of its objective to retain Victoria’s status as the number one destination for containerised freight in Australia.
Additionally, Salta will invest more than A$50 million ($35.8 million) to construct the Dandenong South Intermodal Terminal to be located on Salta’s 180-hectare Nexus Dandenong South Intermodal Estate.
Salta said its investment is on top of having already spent in excess of A$200 million ($143.3 million) for land, road, and other infrastructure works, in anticipation of the Intermodal Terminal.
The region is already home to major users of freight infrastructure including Woolworths’ A$215 million ($154.4 million) Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre, Bunnings’ 40,000 m2 Regional Distribution Centre, plus major logistics businesses, Visa Global Logistics and Silk Contract Logistics.
Salta anticipates the value of new development on the estate to exceed A$1 billion ($720 million) over the next three to five years as the need for containerised trade grows.
Work will start early in 2021 and when finished it will enable the efficient movement of thousands more containers through the Port of Melbourne (POM).
The first phase of the project is expected to take 24 months from works commencement and will include the laying of 800m of rail track and the development of a working apron providing the terminal a capacity to deliver an initial annual throughput of 100,000 TEU.
Salta Founding Director Sam Tarascio said: “We have been working extensively with the State Government to get to this point and it is satisfying to know that the facility will be connected directly with the Port of Melbourne.”
“Over the past 15 years,” Tarisco continued, “Salta has developed plans to increase freight capacity in the outer Melbourne area. Operations at POM are limited by the availability and capacity of trucks to transport freight via road causing serious congestion in and around the POM.
“Salta’s new rail freight terminal will provide opportunities for operators to switch freight transport from road to rail. This will ease congestion, reduce costs, and provide greater opportunities for imports and exports in the South-east of Melbourne.”
