Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) to increase capacity and accommodate larger vessels expected to be operational by 2024
The latest project involving the Port of Melbourne will establish Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT) as the most cutting-edge container terminal in Australia. Bruno Porchietto, who was only recently appointed as the CEO of VICT indicated that the project that costs a whopping 235 million will allow the terminal to handle two large 336 meter ships simultaneously which in essence increase revenue generation capacity significantly for the terminal.
The project in essence is an expansion project that will increase the number of quay cranes by three (from 5 to 8 quay cranes). The three new cranes are high tech and will be supported by 10 new ASCs (Automatic Stacking Cranes) which will increase yard capacity by 50%. The project will be able to accommodate NeoPanamax by 2024 which means that the terminal will be leveraging on economies of scale which will effectively reduce supply chain costs.
The parent company of VICT, Philippine-based global port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTS) which won the concession to manage the terminal in 2014 is responsible for this expansion which is in line with the 2050 Port Development Strategy for the Port of Melbourne.
According to the CEO, ICTS were meticulous towards the project elements and engaged numerous consultancies to assess the viability of the project. Some of the more notable companies involved included Jacobs Engineering which oversaw technical assessments and costing whilst the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) were focused on economic and market related assessments.
Prior to the expansion project ICTS according to audits has already invested an estimated 700 million dollars, all of which involving operational aspects of VICT. This investment amount establishes ICTS as being among the biggest infrastructure investors in Australia that is not directly affiliated with the government of Australia.
Such immense projects within the borders of Melbourne puts Melbourne of a pace where the city which is currently the fastest growing capital city in Australia to overtake Sydney within the next decade in terms of both trade and tourism.
The impact of such projects on the construction sector of Melbourne is profound given the fact that these projects do not just provide employment, but these projects also support all components of the Melbourne construction sector ranging from construction material producers, wholesalers and suppliers all the way to construction equipment suppliers that offer equipment such as excavators for hire.
Such projects generally rent equipment such as excavators and other machines and tools from construction equipment suppliers to support the efficiency of these projects. This is due to the fact that by local companies taking equipment such as excavators for rental hire in melbourne reduces logistical issues and ultimately project cost as such equipment has been observed to carry high ownership costs including maintenance.
In short the expansion project of the Port of Melbourne and all the current rapid construction projects that are taking place within Melbourne have been observed to be improving not just the city’s economy, but improving the economy of the entire state.
