Pilbara Ports: Lumsden Point Cargo Facility Project Moves Forward

Australian Pilbara Ports Authority has short-listed two companies interested in investing to build and operate a new general cargo facility at the Port of Port Hedland.

The companies in question are Qube Bulk and Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal (MIRRAT), which have now been invited to deliver detailed proposals, with a view to having the facility operational in 2021.

Located at Lumsden Point, at the south eastern end of the inner harbor, the development can accommodate a logistics hub, general cargo wharves and cargo lay down areas.

Environmental approval for the development was obtained in 2014 and Pilbara Ports Authority has since invested more than AUD 80 million (USD 57.6 million) in land remediation, dredging and reclamation works at Lumsden Point.

Pilbara Ports Authority said it has consulted with The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and received confirmation that the development has the potential to be eligible for a NAIF loan.

“Developing Lumsden Point will increase port capacity for businesses currently operating in the Pilbara and to support emerging opportunities, including lithium and other battery minerals and agribusiness exports, and provides an opportunity for private sector investment in vital infrastructure,” Lyle Banks, Pilbara Ports Authority’s General Manager of Development and Trade, commented.

“We expect that the project will further facilitate trade opportunities between the Pilbara and international markets and provide more investment and job opportunities in the region,” Banks added.

The Lumsden Point general cargo facility and logistics hub is one of several initiatives led by Pilbara Ports Authority that aims to facilitate trade in the Pilbara.