IN CONSULTATION with customers, industry and community, TasPorts has begun work on a 30-year master plan to lay out a long-term vision for Bell Bay, Burnie, Devonport and Hobart.
Port Master Plan 2027 will provide a long-term framework to support future decision-making and investment in Tasmania’s multi-port network, whilst ensuring each port remains resilient, sustainable and fit-for-purpose, TasPorts says.
CEO Captain Allan Gray said the development of the plan represented an important opportunity to understand the future needs of its customers and the role Tasmania’s ports play in a single connected supply chain.
“With 99% of the state’s freight arriving by ship, Tasmania’s ports are key economic enablers, underpinning the state’s freight task, and supporting our tourism and research sectors,” Capt Gray said. “We cannot develop a meaningful long-term vision without understanding the needs of our customers, port users, tenants, supply chain partners, communities and stakeholders.
“Over the next 12 months, TasPorts will be engaging and listening to the people and organisations that rely on our ports every day. The insights we gather will build on what we already know, and help us deliver a plan that best supports our island economy, now and into the future.
“In practice, this will see the development of a plan that aligns capacity, land use, service levels and investment with realistic demand, environmental constraints and financial sustainability,” Captain Gray said.
Tasmania’s Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Kerry Vincent welcomed the start of the port master planning process.
“TasPorts contributes approximately $2.3 billion to Tasmania’s Gross State Product each year, directly employs more than 300 people, and supports around 8,000 jobs statewide.
“The delivery of the Port Master Plan 2027 will ensure Tasmania continues to invest strategically in the infrastructure needed to support trade, productivity, employment and future economic growth.”
TasPorts’ Port Master Plan 2027 will supersede its 2018 Port Master Plan, which was developed with a 15-year planning horizon.
In that time, TasPorts has delivered significant infrastructure projects identified within the 2018 Plan, including the QuayLink Project at the Port of Devonport, and the Macquarie Wharf Redevelopment Project in Hobart which will deliver a long-term berth for the Australian Antarctic Division’s icebreaker RSV Nuyina.
Together, these projects represent more than $400 million in projects that will modernise Tasmania’s key freight, tourism and Antarctic gateways.
To ensure the Port Master Plan 2027 aligns with future marine and landside infrastructure renewal timeframes and provides long-term industry and investor confidence, TasPorts says it is pursuing a 30-year planning horizon: “This will enable TasPorts to build on its strong planning foundation and ensure Tasmania’s multi-port network is ready to support trade, supply chains and economic activity for decades to come.”