New contracts announced for Port of Townsville upgrade

The Port of Townsville has announced two major contracts for the $193 million Channel Upgrade Project; the largest infrastructure project in the port’s 156 year history.

The contracts, worth a total of more than $10 million, are for rock wall construction and rock delivery.

Queensland company Hall Contracting will build a 2.2-kilometre rock wall, forming a protective bund around a 62-hectare port reclamation area at the eastern end of the port.

“The construction of the rock wall will precede the widening of the Townsville shipping channel which is scheduled to start in 2021 and be completed in 2023,’’ Port of Townsville General Manager Infrastructure and Environment Marissa Wise said.

Marine projects undertaken by Hall Contracting in North Queensland include the widening of the Cairns shipping channel in 2019 as well as dredging the Ross River channel in Townsville.

In addition to Holcim Australia’s existing contract to supply rock from its Roseneath quarry west of Townsville, HY-TEC’s quarry at Calcium has been contracted to supply 43 thousand tonnes of rock.  The transport route will be via the Flinders Highway then the port access road.

Environmental management, costing an additional $17 million, is focusing on marine water monitoring, turtles, inshore dolphins, seagrasses, corals and shore birds as part of the overall project.