Car imports into Sydney Harbour will officially end on November 16, with Port Kembla set to take over NSW’s vehicle trade.
Port Kembla Port Corporation has confirmed in a message to the car industry it had reached to an agreement with Australian Amalgamated Terminals, operator of the port’s new import facilities, to relocate all trade activities to Port Kembla from November 17.
Sydney Harbour’s Glebe Island and White Bay precinct, which has been responsible for all of the state’s ro-ro and vehicle trade, will no longer discharge vehicles after November 16.
Port Kembla will take over the trade with two dedicated berths, with some of the remaining operators already moving to the port.
The port’s 105 berth is being extended by 80 metres, enabling the port to provide berths totalling 800 metres in length to accommodate up to three car-carrying vessels simultaneously.
Ports Minister Joe Tripodi said the new infrastructure would minimise congestion.
“The extension reduces the risk of vessel queuing at Port Kembla as we beef up its capacity to handle car imports,” Mr Tripodi said.
“About 30-40 per cent of cars coming to the port will be processed on site. Car importers will be able to send cars directly from the port to their final point of sale rather than having to first send them to a separate processing facility.”
It is estimated around 300,000 vehicles are shipped into NSW each year.