Transportation Planning Casebook/Port of Botany Bay

Summary

The Port of Botany has undergone and continues to expand its facilities to cater for long term trade growth. The port is an integral part of the logistics and transport network in Australia and especially New South Wales. Therefore it is critical that it is continually improved to ensure optimal performance.

The port botany expansion project entails the following key features:

1,850 m of added wharf face for 5 shipping berths
60Ha of reclaimed terminal land
Deep water berths
Dredging of 7.8 million m3 of fill for shipping channels and berth boxes
road access for the new terminal area
Additional rail sidings
Additional tug berths
Rehabilitation and expansion of Penrhyn Estuary
Construction of communal facilities like boat ramps, look outs and pathways.

Narrative of the Case

Port Botany is and will keep on being, NSW's essential compartment and liquid port. The Port is a universal gateway for freight and is deliberately vital for the economic development of NSW. Port Botany works 24/7. Port Botany is situated on the northern shore of Botany Bay. It took care of more than 2.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the 2012–13 financial year. It has three operational compartment terminals. Compartment related administrations, for example, empty container parks and Australian Customs, are given inside the Port region. The Port gives a critical framework for the liquid exchange, including berthing, and is the only liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import and export in NSW.

Throughout the following five years, NSW Ports' concentration for the Ports and Intermodal Terminals will be to keep up and enhance the effectiveness of existing foundation for Port clients and give the ability to new port advancements; proceed with the usage of current advancement endorsements, bringing about extra and extended Port uses and Port capacity; enhance use of existing Portland, including through re-improvement or extra limit on existing destinations.

NSW Ports perceives that Port Botany is essential to the future monetary development and advancement of NSW. Guaranteeing the Port work effectively will be essential for supporting the Port supply chain and reinforcing the state's monetary future. Securing the effectiveness of the Port inventory network throughout the following five years will require accomplishment on two primary fronts: firstly, improving the utilization of existing foundation (i.e. expanding existing area use; actualizing operational and mechanical changes; and keeping up and updating existing framework); and furthermore, distinguishing the requirement for and growing new foundation before the conjecture request arrives. Over the term of this Plan, the Port Botany area will keep on catering for the compartment and bulk liquid exchanges.

NSW Ports is focused on the standards of sustainable improvement. The arrangement to work and build up the Ports and Intermodal Terminals throughout the following five years in an environmentally friendly way which guarantees long-term suitability and sustainable development. One of the significant difficulties for the Ports will keep up and growing Port tasks in an urbanizing circumstance. A critical concern for NSW Ports is urban infringement close to the Ports, Intermodal Terminals and around key streets and rails, because of the potential effect on neighbourhood convenience that can happen with freight-related exercises. Nearest living arrangements to operational grounds at the Ports and Intermodal Terminals are found: 200 m from Port Botany.

A key approach is required to limit clashing conflicts in nearness to the Ports, Intermodal Terminals, supporting industrial grounds and supporting transport associations. The approach ought to consider: the suitability of land utilize zones and in addition the utilizations allowed inside those zones; recognizable proof of future freight necessities with a specific end goal to ensure the long-term development of these monetary resources (e.g. NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan and the NSW Freight and Ports Strategy); and reservation and assurance of existing and future framework hallways including the recognizable proof and conservation of support zones in light of most extreme foundation usage.

Port Botany Bay Timeline

Timeline of History and Improvements of Port Botany Bay

1770 Lieutenant James Cook, landed in Kurnell, now Botany Bay
1788 1030 convicts and marines landed on the shores of Botany Bay on eleven ship
1960 Sydney’s shipping facilities only located in Port Jackson
1969 New South Wales government proposed to build a new port in Botany Bay adjacent to Sydney airport.
1971 Work commences on the development of the port, consisting of two container terminals.
1979 The Northern port of Botany Bay is opened
1982 The Southern port of Botany Bay is opened
1994 New ethylene tanks installed at the port
2000 Additional ethylene tanks installed at the port
2012 Initial development of (T3) third port added to the Botany Bay
2013 Completion of the third port at Botany Bay
2014 Maintenance of the bulk liquid tanks and dredging of the Brotherson Dock (project commencement)
2014 Resurfacing of the port access roads
2015 Implementing wharf protection to Brotherson Dock wharf (project commencement)
2016 Bunnerong Storm water sediment traps installed (project commencement)
2016 Proposal of new additional tup facilities for growing shipping demand
2017 Proposal of upgraded rail network leading to and from the port.
2018 Prime Minister announces funding for rail line to Port Botany duplication.
Ongoing Continual refurbishment work and maintenance to existing assets

Policy Issues

The Degradation of Habitat

The Port of Botany expansion has had an unfortunate impact on the adjacent Penryn Estuary, including its ecologically important intertidal flat, saltmarsh, shorebird and seagrass habitats. The Estuary is known as an important roosting and feeding area for migratory shorebirds. As a result, the Penrhyn Estuary Habitat Enhancement Project (PEHEP is set to compensate for the port expansion works completed in 2011. The key objectives of the PEHEP were to:

Expand the existing shorebird habitat, to continue to attract migratory shorebirds and potentially attract more shorebirds
Create seagrass habitat
Expand the area of saltmarsh habitat
Provide controlled public access
Minimise anthropogenic disturbances within the Estuary.

Pollution Concerns

Mercury has been found in high concentrations near the port and its surrounding estuaries. There are also suspicions that tonnes of highly toxic mercury contaminated sludge may have been dumped a few decades ago, and so the dredging may mix this into the surrounding water. This presents a problem to both the flora and fauna of the surrounding area, and especially to humans. Mitigation efforts include restricting public access to affected areas, stormwater treatment and habitat monitoring.

The Greens

The Greens also had their concerns with the Port Botany expansion project. The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon had concerns that the expansion work will stir up toxic soil at the bottom of the bay. In addition to this, there were concerns with disturbing the surrounding eco-system that may impact fish and birds, due to the creation of tidal changes. The Greens believed that there was no way to minimise any impacts that would be done from the work and hence believed that the work should not go ahead. On the other hand, Mr Tripodi argued against the argument of The Greens, stating that environmental disruption would be kept to a minimum. One of the environmental protection measures that Mr Tripodi stated that he would use include the use of silt curtains which would catch sediment, preventing pollution into the surrounding water. The dredging involved placing and compacting approximately eight million cubic metres of soil.

Annotated List of Actors

Non-political group of community

The none political community represent the residents and family who will be impact the most in the port botany expansion project. Community will be impacted on varied aspects, such as economic, environment and socially responsibility. The project development involve transportation upgrade, region replanning and expansion and infrastructure development. However, Safety Concerns and Increased Hazard Risk and Impact on Nearby Residents.

NSW government The government strategic action on the project is divided into three parts, network efficiency, network capacity and network sustainability. The network efficiency aims to identify the freight movement and network demand as well as develop new interstate freight network and improve the productivity of the network. The new planning of land used, includes industrial and residential development, need to be characterised designed to make sure the community is suitable for this capacity. In addition, the sustainability of the project also need to be considered since there will be environmental impact, such as air pollution, visual impact and water/ noise pollution, on the community and all of the impact need to be addressed before the proposal are being approved.

Local port botany community The local Port Botany area is a mixed-use area including residential and industrial land. The community participate the botany industry and Providing and maintaining the popular public area service. The community involves activity such as meeting with government, public open space planning workshops and identified the potential problem and risk of the project. The community groups also make active interest in proposal to help with the region development.

shareholder

IFM Investors is one of the largest global infrastructure investment managers. Headquartered in Melbourne, with offices in Sydney, London and New York, IFM Investors specialises in investing and managing private investment products across infrastructure, private equity, debt investments and listed equity portfolios.

IFM Investors was a pioneer investor in the Australian infrastructure market, and has been an investor in global infrastructure assets since 1995. IFM invests on behalf of institutional investors and is owned by Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd, the holding company for the Members Equity group of companies, which in turn is owned by a large number of Australian superannuation funds, representing over five million members.

AustralianSuper is one of Australia's largest superannuation funds with more than two million members, over $60 billion in funds under management and a net annual cash flow of over $4 billion. AustralianSuper has been an active investor in infrastructure since 1990, with ownerships stakes in over 100 different infrastructure assets. AustralianSuper is one of Australia's largest infrastructure investors with over $6 billion invested in infrastructure. With a focus on unlisted infrastructure, AustralianSuper is a long-term investor and is capable and willing to reinvest in quality businesses to enhance value.

Tawreed is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ("ADIA") and is focused on investments in high quality infrastructure assets with stable cash flows. Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally diversified investment institution whose sole mission is to invest funds on behalf of the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to make available the necessary financial resources to secure and maintain the future welfare of the Emirate. ADIA manages a diversified global investment portfolio, across more than two dozen asset classes and sub-categories including quoted equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, alternatives and infrastructure.

Cbus Established in 1984 to provide superannuation services for members of the building, construction and allied industries, their families and employers, Cbus today is one of Australia's leading industry superannuation funds. Cbus has a membership of more than 700,000 industry and general public members, and 80,000 employers.

HESTA is the leading super fund for health and community services, with more than 750,000 members, 119,000 employers and $22 billion in assets. An industry fund – with 26 years of experience in the sector – HESTA exists solely to benefit its members. Its size means the Fund can offer many benefits to members and employers. These include: low fees, a fully portable account, easy administration, access to low-cost income protection and death insurance, a comprehensive advice service, super education sessions and transition to retirement options. More people in health and community services choose HESTA for their super

Discussion

Efficient Road & Rail Connections to and from the Ports

The greatest challenge facing the NSW Port-related transport-logistics chains is the provision of efficient road and rail connections to and from the Ports. As Port-related throughput increases over the next five years, landside transport volumes will increase. This will require improvements in the efficiency and productivity of landside transport operations, optimising the use of existing infrastructure, and building new infrastructure to provide additional capacity. Trucks currently form the most vital link in the freight chain to and from Ports Botany and Kembla, and across NSW. To cater for truck growth from the Ports, efficiencies on the existing road network need to be optimised, with the goal of moving more freight with proportionately fewer vehicle movements. Even with these improvements, additional road capacity is required to be delivered. NSW Ports sees itself as the long-term custodian of these major port assets and therefore recognises that increased usage of rail is an important factor in achieving efficient Port operations that can cater for forecast trade demands. Increased use of rail will reduce the growth in Port-related truck movements, managing the volume of trucks on the shared road network. The use of rail to and from the Ports is currently constrained by a number of factors including: the need to travel on the shared passenger rail network, which gives priority to commuter trains; the lack of intermodal terminal capacity; inadequate rail siding lengths requiring shunting; and operational inefficiencies at varying stages of the rail journey. NSW Ports is committed to assisting the State to address this challenge, with port tenants as key business partners, by supporting a sustainable integrated freight transport system as well as developing the Port and Intermodal Terminal facilities as part of the overall freight infrastructure task.

Dredging

The expansion of Port Botany entails five new shipping berths built on 60 hectares of reclaimed land. There is fear that this work will stir up toxic soil on the bottom of the bay, therefore mixing with the nearby water system. This has caused people to worry about the possible environmental effects of the dredging. The government is trying to address this issue by taking remedial measures as per their safeguards. Some argue that these are only disruptions and only temporary, while others are worried about their longer term impacts.

A whole range of environmental measures have been put in place, including the use of silt curtains designed to catch sediment preventing it from flowing into the remaining parts of the water.

Economic Benefit

Port Botany is currently the second largest container port in Australia (by volume), handling over $61bn worth of annual trade and generating more than $2.5 billion a year in economic activity. The expansion of the port will have significant economic benefits for New South Wales by improving efficiency of cargo handling and making exports more competitive. In addition to the 2,000 direct and indirect jobs that will be created during the construction phase of the works, the expanded port terminal is forecast to generate 9,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2025.
In conjunction with the project’s important role in supporting the future economic growth of Sydney and New South Wales, the port will also provide a critical role for the State in post disaster relief. To meet this requirement, the terminal has been designed and constructed to ensure it will remain operational following a one in a 1000 year earthquake event.

Benefits to the community

On large infrastructure projects, the local community can often be adversely impacted as a result of the construction and future operation of a new facility. As part of the Port Botany Expansion project, Sydney Ports was committed to delivering this key piece of infrastructure whilst simultaneously minimising the impact on local communities.
In order to achieve this goal, the project included a $30m investment in the local community and environmental, including: · construction of a four lane boat ramp and associated facilities; · restoration and enhancement of Foreshore Road promenade including footpaths, cycle paths and extensive native vegetation plantings; · provision of a pedestrian bridge across Foreshore Road linking the local community direct with Foreshore Beach; · significant enhancement of the degraded Penrhyn Estuary including creation of bird roosting islands, and expansion and regeneration of existing saltmarsh habitat, mudflats and sea grass habitat areas. These facilities were designed and developed in consultation with the local community and as such have been embraced and well used by all parties. In addition, areas of regenerated habitat have already led to an increase in native wildlife. The successful delivery of this part of the project has provided tangible benefits to the local community and will be a lasting legacy of the Port Botany Expansion project.

Environmental Sustainability

The control and management of all environmental issues was based around a site specific Construction Environmental Management Plan. This plan included 22 environmental sub-plans which addressed all significant environmental activities. To assist in the execution and monitoring of these plans, a number of specialists were utilised on the project including saltmarsh and sea grass ecologists, marine scientists, soil conservationists, avian ecologists, and air quality, noise and vibration consultants.

References

Harm, Z (2017). Sydney Port Botany Terminal 3 Project. The Australian Geographer, 15(3) ..159-169.

Save Botany Beach (2007). A community opposing the Port Botany expansion. https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/files/27f10fe4-fd32-46b0-8f25-a291008d80fe/Submissions_-_Save_Botany_Beach_-_Greg_Killeen_-_APD.pdf

NSW government (2013). NSW freight and Port Strategy. transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/documents/2017/NSW_freight_and_ports>strategy.pdf ABC News (2008) Greens fear impact of Port Botany Dredging. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-19/greens-fear-impact-of-port-botany-dredging/481444

Kozaki, D (2018). Budget 2018: SYdney will be dissapointed by Coffs Harbour, Port botany set to benefit. Obrien (2013) Port botany mercury fears. https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/port-botany-mercury-fears-20130119-2d00r.html

Sydney Ports(2005). Port Botany Expansion Penryn Estuary Habitat Enhancement Plan. www.portaythority.com.au/media/1084/pehal_report_execsummary.pdf

NSW ports (2015) Port Botany Expansion . www.nswports.com.au/community-environmenthub/project-compliance/portbotanyexpansion/

Hutchinson Ports (2017). Port BOtany Expansion. www.hutchinsonports.com.au/port-botany-expansion/ Kajewski (2015). Port Botany Expansion- Arcadis Consulting. <nowiki> aradis.com/en/australia/what-we-doout-projects/port-botany-expansion.