Victoria’s long-running effort to get trucks off roads in the inner west will be boosted by a new government deal leasing the site of the old Melbourne Market to the port for 42 years.
On Friday, Ports and Freight Minister Melissa Horne will announce the site, a 29-hectare parcel of land on Footscray Road, West Melbourne, will be leased until 2066. The terms of the contract are commercial-in-confidence but expected to be worth millions of dollars.
The old Melbourne Market site on Footscray Road will be leased to the port. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
The Port of Melbourne will use the nearby land for a dedicated area for truck drivers and additional space for on-site storage, adding capacity for an extra million 20-foot containers a year. The contract period aligns with the 50-year lease agreement signed in 2016 between the port’s private owners and the state government.
Making the site available to shipping companies is expected to drive down truck movements across inner-west suburbs by allowing them to store containers next to the docks rather than forcing trips through Footscray, Yarraville, Tottenham, Brooklyn and Seddon.
Martin Wurt, of the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group, said the announcement would be welcomed by locals alongside the transport industry.
He said a lot of container yards had popped up around the inner west on blocks that weren’t appropriate or designed for the number of trucks coming in and out.
“In some areas in the inner west, there are issues with dust from unsealed sites being used for container storage. This is going to be a purpose-built facility, which sounds like it will be a plus,” Wurt said.
“The big question is when will it be ready and when will we start seeing the benefits?
“Nothing can come sooner for our community. We’ve been waiting close to 20 years for change.”
Wurt said the region had some of Melbourne’s worst air pollution problems. A report by the environmental watchdog in 2021 found pollution outside a childcare centre in Yarraville was double the acceptable rate.
Ports and Freight Minister Melissa Horne.Credit: Joe Armao
The port handled 3.19 million containers and 387,991 new motor vehicles in the 2022-23 financial year. Its total trade was 108.9 million revenue tonnes, a maritime term that also measures the amount of liquids and raw materials imported and exported.
“This is a great deal for Victoria,” Horne said.
“We’re getting more trucks off local roads, increasing the amount of freight the Port of Melbourne can handle, boosting trade and the economy, while strengthening Victoria’s supply chains.”
Port of Melbourne chief executive Saul Cannon said the site’s location would allow it to transform the entire precinct and improve the supply chain as Melbourne’s population grew to the biggest in Australia.
The site is currently being used to assist with construction of the West Gate Tunnel and other major projects.
When the tunnel is complete, the government expects 9000 trucks to be taken off surrounding roads, which will be backed by 24-hour truck bans and camera technology to detect breaches.
“Through this lease, the West Gate Tunnel and our investment in truck ban enforcement technology, we’re getting trucks off local roads in Melbourne’s west and returning them to local people,” Footscray Labor MP Katie Hall said.
The wholesale fruit and vegetable market at Footscray Road opened in 1969 under then-Victorian premier Sir Henry Bolte. The Victorian government announced it would build a new home for the market at Epping in 2004, and the relocation was completed in 2015.
In May, the Allan government deferred work on the Western Interstate Freight Terminal (WIFT) in Truganina despite it being recommended as an urgent priority since 2021.
This was partly driven by the Commonwealth’s decision to prioritise a similar terminal in Melbourne’s north instead. Both were proposed to handle the double-stacked trains that will travel the country along the national Inland Rail corridor.
But western suburbs councils said the WIFT was needed urgently to keep local jobs in the region, and warned the northern site would add hundreds of truck trips because nearly half of freight customers were based in the west.
There are also multiple private sector freight projects being developed in Melbourne to handle more freight by rail.
Intermodal Terminal Company, supported by Aware Super, is developing a hub in Somerton, while Pacific National is proposing to build a facility at Little River. At the weekend, local residents protested against the Little River terminal.
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.