A planned Kwinana container terminal in Perth has been given $1.1 billion for a new road network.
The federal government is spending $552 million on new and upgraded roads which will be matched by the Western Australian Government; it will serve a proposed Westport container terminal, redeveloped bulk terminal and a Western Trade Coast route.
The funding will deliver a four-lane expansion of Anketell Road, between Leath and Abercrombie roads, and a grade separation at Rockingham Rd.
Anketell Rd is viewed as a freight route that is expected to handle heavy vehicles and links Leath Rd to the Kwinana Freeway, shifting trucks away from residential areas and reducing traffic delays, the PM’s office says.
Canberra will also spend $350m on upgrading the freeway for the proposed precinct.
KWINANA HUB
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says “upgrading Anketell Rd will ensure Western Australia’s trade capacity can realise its potential”.
“Providing clear and efficient access to the future Westport precinct will support long-term economic growth of Western Australian industries, boosting the local and national economy and creating jobs.”
WA Premier Roger Cook says their state economy “is the strongest in the nation and the future container port in Kwinana coupled with the Western Trade Coast will play a significant role in maintaining that strength”.
“Upgrading Anketell Road will help deliver this once-in-a-century economic infrastructure for WA,” he claims.
“It will ensure our state has what it needs to meet my government’s priorities— including becoming a renewable energy superpower and a place that makes more things here.”
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King describes the Anketell Rd upgrade as “a huge investment” in future supply chains.
“A wider, safer Anketell Road will increase freight throughput to a future Westport precinct, reducing travel times and lowering cost of freight for businesses and consumers alike,” she says.
“This will also take more freight off our local roads and make it safer for residents in Rockingham and surrounding suburbs to get around.”
WA Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti says the road upgrades represents “a critical east-west connection” that will ensure freight traffic in and out of the future port precinct and surrounding industrial areas are safe.
“By future-proofing WA’s trade capabilities for the next century, we’re ensuring costs for imports, exports and everyday goods remain low and creating a pipeline of jobs for Western Australians,” she says.
The MP for Brand, Madeleine King says “the funding will mean workers in Perth’s southern suburbs will spend less time behind the wheel and more time with family and friends”.
“It will ease freight congestion, make freight transport safer, back in our truckies and support the … Kwinana Industrial Area.”
OTHER KWINANA NEWS: $700m to be spent on widening freeway
