December 04, 2008

Port Hedland welcomes AUD 225 million upgrade

It is reported that authorities in Port Hedland in Western Australia's north, have welcomed an AUD 225 million expansion of facilities to cater for the growth in demand for minerals, particularly iron ore.

The report added that a new multi purpose berth will be built on Finucane Island, on the western side of the harbour and is expected to be operational by mid 2009.

The State Government says it will provide access to export facilities for iron ore juniors and allow for the relocation of manganese and chromite stockpiles away from the town.

Mr Andre Bush CEO of Port Hedland said that the new berth will handle about 18 million tonnes of exports a year. He added that "It's very much a bulk export port at the moment but there's also significant growth in general cargo [and] fuel imports, which hopefully creating this berth will allow the public berths to service that increased trade in the future.”