$9.5 million Yamala upgrades to kick off CQ Inland Port
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Posted on August 30, 2018
A $9.5 million rail and road upgrade at Yamala backed by $4.4 million in Palaszczuk Government funding signals the first step towards the Central Queensland (CQ) Inland Port.
Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said the project, funded by the Building our Regions program, was being delivered in partnership with industry ($4.41 million) and Central Highlands Regional Council ($695,000).
“This project will underpin the future development of the inland port at Yamala, near Emerald, by upgrading local road and rail infrastructure,” Mr Dick said.
“The works are to build a 1.5km dead-end rail siding capable of handling 42 wagons, upgrade the Bonnie Doon Road and its intersection with the Capricorn Highway including the rail crossing, and upgrade the industrial access road to the rail siding.
“The Palaszczuk Government’s support for this critical infrastructure will create an estimated 28 jobs during construction as well as bolster local economic growth, support local businesses and open up more opportunities for the Central Highlands region into the future.”
Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher said GrainCorp plans to move its grain facilities from Emerald to Yamala, where it intends to build a $20 million state-of-the-art facility as the anchor operator for the port.
“Safer and more efficient grain handling and transport, and the port’s 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week link to the Port of Gladstone is set to reduce costs and lead to increased exports,” Mr Butcher said.
Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor Kerry Hayes said the sod turning today represented a significant addition to infrastructure connectivity for the Central Highlands.
“The co-investment by this council with the state government shows how important this project is to the region and how a collaborative approach to vital investment provides great benefits for industry, agriculture and services,” Mayor Hayes said.
“The presence of GrainCorp as a major tenant with a state-of-the art grain handling facility, demonstrates that, with careful incentives from local and state governments, the private sector can confidently invest in the region, providing greater economy of scale and ultimately better returns to growers.”
Regional Manager GrainCorp Brad Foster said GrainCorp was proud to support growers in the Emerald region through their investment.
“We will deliver more efficient rail performance and improve the export competitiveness of high-quality Queensland grain,” Mr Foster said.
Managing Director CQ Inland Port Alan Stent-Smith said he was excited to be present at the sod turning event following more than five years of planning.
‘Projects of this scale and complexity don’t happen overnight and without the strong support and collaboration between the state government, council, and GrainCorp our vision would not have become a reality,” Mr Stent-Smith said.
“We look forward to continuing to work with these partners as we forge ahead with the construction and delivery of stage 1 of the project.”
Building our Regions has allocated $225 million towards 174 critical infrastructure projects across 62 local governments in regional Queensland, generating approximately 1762 jobs.
Of this, 26 projects in the Central Queensland region have been allocated over $40.4 million in Building our Regions funding, for projects worth a total of $102 million, generating 311.8 jobs.
A further six projects in the region, worth a total of over $92.3 million, have been shortlisted under Round 4 of the program, with successful projects expected to be announced in late 2018.