The New South Wales government has a dream to transform Sydney harbour into a tourist Mecca. To do that - it has been steadily removing commercial activity with car imports and general cargo being relocated to Port Kembla near Wollongong.
The only problem is that no thought was given to the transport infrastructure necessary to support the creation of what is really a new port.
Port Kembla is nestled within the surrounding escarpment. There is only one access road worthy of that title - and it is already reaching capacity.
The rail system winds through difficult terrain and over an ancient viaduct. The lines are shared between freight and commuter traffic and already are at capacity moving coal to the Port Kembla coal loader.
Now it has been revealed that bridges within the urban road system lack the capacity to carry the heavy loads that are moving through the port.
It seems to be the usual case of make a decision - implement a major relocation of resources - and then walk away from the problems without allocating any funds.
A new port to service this state's exports and imports needs a huge injection of funds to create a new road system. It will be impossible to quickly upgrade rail transport using the existing rail corridor - and it is therefore essential that the half completed Maldom-Dombarton line to western Sydney be expedited.
If the government fails to act and allocate the necessary funds there is every chance that the new port will fail - and that shippers will bypass Port Kembla for ports in other states which do not have limitations.
If that happens, the NSW economy will suffer serious damage !
No comments:
Post a Comment