Australian ports must modernise: Hatch

ACCELERATING challenges of climate change, competition and digitisation mean Australia’s ports and terminals must modernise, global engineering giant Hatch believes.

Hatch describes itself as an award-winning multidisciplinary leader in engineering, operational and development projects in the metals, energy and infrastructure industries.

Andrew Catto, Global Director for Ports and Terminals, forecasts a future where net-zero (with a push towards electrification), densification, digitisation and climate resilience will shape Australia’s port sector.

“The modernisation of our ports and terminals is a key piece of the puzzle in Australia’s overall drive to net-zero,” Mr Catto said.

“The development of a green-powered grid will have major implications for how facilities and transport systems consume and manage energy.  And while it’s no mean feat, without that resilient foundation our efforts to decarbonise and electrify will fall short.”

Mr Catto notes Australia’s growing role as a critical minerals export powerhouse but, ironically, these materials are being delivered through a supply chain that itself needs to decarbonise as it works to fulfil demand.

And with trade volumes in both containerised and non-containerised freight markets expected to rise, “This presents one of the sector’s biggest opportunities yet for growth, but it also drives a desperate need for infrastructure expansion, technology adoption and net-zero operations at both the ports and inland transportation corridors, especially across our East Coast capitals,” Mr Catto says.  

See more coverage of the Hatch report in the April-May 2025 edition of the DCN magazine.