Plans to turn Kalgoorlie into an ‘inland port’

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Western Australian premier has weighed in on plans to transform the historic mining centre of Kalgoorlie-Boulder into an inland port. Roger Cook says it can not happen until the states rail freight network is returned to public hands.

Transcript

00:00It's been decades in the making, but has reached a fork in the road.

00:08A proposed realignment of about 25 kilometres of track around Kalgoorlie Super Pit is part

00:15of plans to develop an intermodal transport hub.

00:18It could take hundreds of trucks off the road.

00:21We want to see more grain, we want to see more resources, we want to see more freight

00:25going onto rail.

00:26Early estimates suggest it could cost at least $170 million.

00:31But funding's not the only hurdle.

00:34The only way that realignment's going to take place is if we bring the rail freight network

00:38back into public hands.

00:40That is the only time that we'll have the opportunity to take advantage of these sort

00:44of initiatives.

00:45The re-elected Cook Government plans to end a 50-year lease of the rail freight network.

00:50Kalgoorlie business leaders want it to happen as soon as possible.

00:54Diversify our economy locally, de-bottleneck our existing state infrastructure and drive

01:00growth in our region.

01:01While opening up new areas for gold mining, it would also benefit a newly opened rare earths

01:07refinery.

01:08Australia is not particularly competitive on inland logistics.

01:13Improved infrastructure will certainly improve the efficiency, getting material to the plant as well as us getting material from the plant.

01:22Consultancy firm Deloitte was expected to deliver a detailed business case by the end

01:27of last year, but that's been delayed until June.

01:31Immensely frustrated because I think it's been really driven by a centralised view of supporting

01:38Fremantle and Fremantle is an important asset for WA.

01:40A warning to keep WA's economy on the fast track.

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