11/12/2019 10:29 AM
7 facts about Sydney’s newest port facility on Glebe Island
A working port for over 100 years, now a new port facility on Glebe Island will help supply the city’s construction boom. Here are 7 key facts about Sydney’s multi-user facility.
Glebe Island in Sydney Harbour has been a vital maritime supply route for over 100 years. The port’s berths provide a low-cost, low-impact and sustainable way to bring dry bulk materials into the city.
Now, the role of this crucial asset will continue following planning approval for a new import, storage and distribution facility for critical construction supplies.
Here are some key facts about Glebe Island’s multi-user facility — Sydney’s newest maritime development:
Glebe Island has been a working port for over 100 years
Since 1901, Glebe Island has operated as a working port in the heart of Sydney Harbour. It is a strategic deep-water port operating 24/7, currently supporting imports of cement, sugar, salt and gypsum, and has played a key role in supporting the city’s construction supply needs since the early 1990s.
Image: Glebe Island (background) and White Bay Cruise Terminal (foreground)
Glebe Island is Sydney Harbour’s only port capable of importing bulk goods
Glebe Island and the adjacent White Bay are the last remaining deep‑water wharves in Sydney Harbour capable of handling bulk construction materials.
The port provides the only sustainable marine logistics solution in Sydney Harbour. The alternate transport option is often long-haul truck movements coming from sources that are increasingly remote from Sydney.
The NSW Government is investing $93 billion in new infrastructure
This demand for construction materials in Sydney has increased significantly, particularly due to the NSW Government’s $93 billion infrastructure investment program, which includes projects such as Sydney Metro, WestConnex and the Western Harbour Tunnel.
The facility will bring sand and aggregate into central Sydney by sea
Construction requires concrete, and concrete requires sand as a key component. However, local sand supplies in Sydney are depleted. With sand supplies now coming from further afield, the multi-user facility will help service inner Sydney’s increasing demand for construction materials and deliver them where they’re needed.
Image: Glebe Island in Sydney Harbour has been a working port for over 100 years
One single vessel can replace between 1,100-1,500 truckloads of materials
By importing materials such as sand, aggregate and cement by ship and sea, truck movements on roads in the Sydney region will be substantially reduced. Just a single vessel can replace between 1,100-1,500 truckloads of material, from as far afield as Newcastle and the South Coast, which would otherwise need to travel by truck into Sydney’s city centre.
Supplies will be unloaded straight into the new facility
Dry bulk construction materials will be offloaded from ships via their unloading equipment and into the enclosed facility to reduce both dust and noise emissions. From there, the materials can then be loaded straight from the storage bays and on to trucks within the building to be delivered to concrete batching plants and construction sites in the city.
The new facility will begin operating in mid-2021
With the project only just approved, it is anticipated that construction of the multi-user facility will commence in mid-2020 with operations commencing in mid-2021.
Find out more about the Glebe Island Multi-User Facility
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