Ports operator DP World and NSW Ports are gearing up for a $400 million joint investment to more than double the rail capacity at Port Botany and cut down on truck movements in inner-Sydney by 2027.

NSW Ports will contribute $148 million for the new facility which will service both the container terminal and the Logistics Park – the largest container park in the city.

The major works, designed to shore up Sydney’s capacity to handle international trade volumes, will comprise the addition of five new rail sidings that can accommodate regional trains of up to 600 metres.

The works, which will start in June and take two years to complete, are planned to bolster the port’s rail capacity from 400,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent containers) to one million TEUs.

Port Botany is currently Australia's largest common user bulk liquids facility, handling 2.8 million TEUs annually and contributing $10.7 billion to the gross state product of NSW annually.

“This collaboration with DP World to deliver a new enhanced rail terminal continues the growth of on-dock rail capacity at Port Botany to service the state’s import and export trade,” says Marika Calfas, the CEO of NSW Ports.

“This new rail terminal will enable more containers to be moved by rail, reducing the growth of trucks on roads and will deliver greater efficiency for the state’s container supply chains.

“Port Botany is uniquely the only port in Australia with on-dock rail within each container terminal, connected to an extensive network of metropolitan and regional intermodal terminals including by dedicated freight rail.”

DP World, a Dubai-based company with a long history in the Australian ports sector, accounts for about 40 per cent of Australia's imports and exports across its operations nationally.

Earlier this year, DP World announced the launch of a new rail service between the Port Botany terminal and Stockland’s Yennora Intermodal Terminal, boosting the group’s capacity to provide fully integrated supply chain services for its customers.

“Our investment in this new port-centric logistics infrastructure will deliver more capacity, superior agility, seamless integration of processes, increased productivity and added reliability,” says Nicolaj Noes, the executive vice-president for Oceania at DP World.

“We cannot wait for our present and future customers to reap the benefits of this world-class facility, which accelerates the shift of freight from road to rail while reducing carbon emissions and improving Sydney’s air quality at the same time.”

In November last year, DP World launched a $174.5 million takeover bid for Silk Logistics Holdings (ASX: SLH) in a bid to shore up the global giant's port-to-door logistics offering.

A meeting of shareholders scheduled for 7 March 2025 in Melbourne will vote on the takeover offer.

Help us deliver quality journalism to you.As a free and independent news site providing daily updates during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywherewe call on your support