PORT of Newcastle is calling for tenders to carry out "tens of millions of dollars worth" of land and wharf upgrades to prepare for two new mobile harbour cranes as an interim stage to building its hoped-for container terminal.
Port of Newcastle chief executive Craig Carmody described the two tenders - which open on Monday - as "an interim body of work to diversify the port in preparation for the future multi-purpose deep-water container terminal".
The two multi-million dollar contracts are for various land and wharfside services to improve the existing Mayfield 4 general cargo wharf, extending the hardstand behind the wharf and modifying it to take ships of 280-metre to 300-metre length, up from the existing limit of 230 metres.
Today's announcement follows the closure of expressions of interest (EOI) in building the port's initial grab for the container market with its Empty Container Park - a site dedicated to collecting the surplus of empty containers and reshipping them overseas.
The EOI opened on September 23 and ran until last Friday, November 5.
Mr Carmody said the release of tenders followed Monday's announcement that the federal government would contribute $1.5million of the $3million needed for a feasibility study into a port green hydrogen hub - a project that port chair Roy Green has confirmed is aimed at the Kooragang Island site previously set aside for the T4 coal loader, which was abandoned in May 2018.
"The release of these tenders reinforces the port's commitment to future adaption and is a key step-change in our diversification journey," Mr Carmody said.
He said the 90-hectare parcel of former BHP land had been extensively remediated and the new works would "give new life and purpose" to the land. The port remained "unwavering" in its determination to build its $2.4-billion full container terminal.
He said the port had received "significant Australian and international interest" in running the Empty Container Park.
Glenn Thornton, the former Newcastle business chamber executive who signed on last year with the port as its projects manager, said Monday's tenders were "a critical next step" in setting up the mostly vacant Mayfield Precinct as a "key activity centre within the port".
"Mayfield 4 is currently a general cargo facility and the expanded hardstand area, associated infrastructure and planned Empty Container Park is being implemented to leverage the arrival of the two Liebherr Mobile Harbour Cranes that are currently in production in Germany," Mr Thornton said.
"This expanded general cargo facility will compliment the ship unloader that is in commissioning stage at Kooragang 2 and advances Port of Newcastle on its diversification path."
The Liebherr cranes are valued at $28.4 million and Mr Thornton said the cranes were scheduled to arrive in late May next year and would be operational by August.
He said the improvements to T4 and the Empty Container Park would take up about 10 to 12 hectares of the 90-hectare former steelworks site.
Mr Thornton said Australia had traditionally run a surplus of empty containers, because we imported far more containerised goods than we exported, and empty containers tended to pile up over time.
"The market is crying out for something like this," Mr Thornton said.
He said the expressions of interest to run the park that were received during the recent call were being evaluated and trimmed to a short list with negotiations with bidders to start in the coming weeks.
Monday's tenders were for various power, infrastructure and construction contracts.
Tenders would remain open for six weeks, allowing for their evaluation and eventual awarding in the new year.
