‘Hundreds of jobs’ in $630m container plan

Andrew Mathieson
PLANS to shift most of Melbourne’s container trade to Geelong would create 350 jobs, according to the city’s port manager.
Asciano said the project would also require dredging and widening of Corio Bay shipping channels so container ships could reach the port.
The stevedore company has put the plan to State Government, proposing removal of Melbourne’s Swanston Dock container operations to allow population growth around Williamstown.
Work in Geelong would start about 2014 before container trade followed two years later.
Asciano chief executive Mark Rowsthorn said the 350 jobs in the container handling industry would be on top of additional work in a customs processing centre.
The project would give Geelong certainty of a “high-employment business with a big flow on for a very long period of time,” he said.
“There will be a lot of money to spend to build the port in the first place and a lot of jobs associated with that.”
Mr Rowsthorn expected widespread support in Geelong for the project.
“One of the great things about this port is if it gets built we’ll be here for 50 years,” he said.
“We’re talking about a long-term industry. We can’t shut our container terminals down because we’re reliant on them for all our trade.”
Mr Rowsthorn said the first stage of the project would cost $270 million.
Deepening and widening of the channels would cost $360 million, he said.
The second stage of the project would require Asciano to buy out some businesses neighbouring the port land before 2019.
Mr Rowsthorn ruled out compulsory acquisitions of private homes to make way for the container trade.
“We can do it without displacing any of the existing land or homes,” he said.
However, the project would affect four houses next to Pivot’s North Shore operations.
“They would have to deal with noise abatement and probably a buffer,” Mr Rowsthorn said.
Under the plan a smaller portion of Melbourne’s container trade would shift to Port of Hastings.
Geelong’s port currently handles bulk shipping of products such as oil, grain and woodchips.