The Government of Western Australia is exploring options to construct a new container port at Kwinana. This would see the eventual transfer of container handling capacity from Fremantle Port to the new Kwinana Port over time.
There are two preferred options for handling container freight over the transition between the Freemantle and Kwinana ports. Both ultimately result in all freight capacity shifting from Fremantle to Kwinana, and both require the construction of a new land-backed port in the Kwinana Industrial Area serviced by an upgraded Anketell Road freight route.
Key Dates
| 2017 | Project Announcement |
| 2032 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| WA Government | |
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The $97.2 million allocated by the Government of WA will be managed by a new Westport Office established in the Department of Transport. |
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PROJECT HISTORY
| 2017 | The Westport Taskforce, was established and commissioned by the WA Government to develop a long-term strategy to address Perth’s and the surrounding region’s freight needs. The Taskforce’s study focused on the existing port locations at Fremantle, Kwinana and Bunbury, as well as associated road and rail links, and intermodal terminals. |
| Dec 2019 | The Taskforce released a shortlist of five options for new port. |
| Jul 2020 | The Government of Western Australia endorsed the Westport Taskforce's Final Report, which identifies two preferred options for handling container freight over the long term. The two preferred options from the July 2020 Westport Taskforce Final Report are: a staged transition from Freemantle to Kwinana, with container handing shared for several decades before fully transitioning to Kwinana, and moving all freight from Freemantle to Kwinana in one step when it is economically and commercially viable. |
| Aug 2020 | Westport Taskforce publicly releases Final Report and recommendations, which are subsequently endorsed by the WA Government. Also, the WA Government allocated $97.2 million towards environmental assessment, detailed design, and business case development to progress the project. Of the $97.2 million, $25 million will be allocated for planning, corridor design, and community and landowner engagement along Anketell Road and Thomas Road. |
| Jun 2021 | The WA Government appointed a Future of Fremantle Planning Committee for the project. |
| Aug 2021 | The WA Government held a market briefing to inform industry about future opportunities to be involved in delivering Westport. |
| Sep 2021 | The WA Government allocated $490 million to the project in its 2021-22 Budget. $400 million will be directed to land acquisitions and enabling works, while $90 million has been directed towards program development. |
| Mar 2022 | Early Concept Design released for the Anketell-Thomas Road Freight Corridor. The design shows the proposed freight corridor that will connect the new container terminal in Kwinana’s Outer Harbour with the Tonkin Highway and includes four traffic lanes and grade-separations at key intersections. |
| Mar 2022 | The WA Government issued a request for tenders for a Supply Chain Integrated Design and Modelling contract, closing 15 June. |
| May 2022 | The 2022-23 WA Budget allocated $381 million for land purchases and $19 million for enabling works and feasability studies. |
| Aug 2022 | The WA Government issued a Request for Tender for a Business Case Advisor and Cost Benefit Analysis for the project, closing on 27 September. |
| Oct 2022 | WSP was awarded the contract for the Supply Chain Integrated Design (SCID) project within the Westport development. |
| May 2023 | Turner and Townsend were appointed as the Program Management Office service provider for the Westport Project. |
| Mar 2024 | Westport has referred the proposed marine and landside port infrastructure to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2020)
Sector
Other Transport
Procurement approach
Unconfirmed |
Location
Western Australia |
Resources
