Westport responds!

Westport is the State Government’s major infrastructure program to move container trade
from Fremantle to Kwinana to future proof WA’s supply chain for the next hundred years.

Westport. Artist’s impression 2024. Source Westport

For the past 3 years, Westport has been engaging with industry, key stakeholders and
experts in supply chain and logistics to develop the Westport business case.

The business case clearly details that Fremantle Port will not be able to cope with the future growth in container trade, and not taking action would cost the WA economy $244 billion in the coming decades.

If no action is taken and trade exceeds Fremantle Port’s capacity, containers bound for
Western Australia will need to be offloaded at east coast ports and transported back by road
and rail, adding to costs and putting WA’s economic self-sufficiency at severe risk.

The trade forecast used in the business case was reduced from previous estimates and is
lower than historical long-run growth. Trade growth was 3.5% per annum between 2005 and
2020, with the years following being severely impacted by COVID-19. Last year’s growth
was 6% on the back of strong population growth, representing an increase of nearly 50,000
containers compared to the year before.

According to the latest forecast, Perth’s container imports and exports are expected to
increase at an average rate of 3.1% per annum between 2020 and 2035, and 2.7% per
annum beyond 2035, driven by population growth, consumption growth, Gross State Product
growth and exchange rates.

The business case also confirmed that due to a wide range of issues and constraints, any
option to extend the life of Fremantle Port would only be an interim measure and the move to
Kwinana would still be required. This included investing in a new rail bridge and increasing
freight trains through residential areas, which would still only allow the current rail mode
share to be maintained at 20% given the expected growth.

The relocation of container trade to Kwinana will also pave the way to unlock around 260
hectares of prime inner urban land in Fremantle, which will support WA’s growing population
and deliver homes for around 55,000 people. As part of this planning process, options for
relocating the other non-container trades are currently being investigated.

Container trade related employment in Fremantle represents about 1,000 jobs out of a total
workforce of more than 27,500, and the transition of these jobs and businesses to Kwinana
is an important consideration as part of ongoing planning.

* Here’s a link to the Westport Business Case Summary.

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