Port of Melbourne to finish channel dredging in 2009

PORT of Melbourne Corporation has announced that it expects to finish the bulk of the channel-deepening project this financial year.

Chief executive Stephen Bradford said the biggest part of the AUD969 million (US$803.75 million) project would be wrapped up in 2008-09. Work commenced on dredging the channel in February and is slated for completion by the end of next year. "We're ahead of schedule and I'm confident we will complete it on time," he was quoted as saying in a report by The Age-Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Mr Bradford said the port aimed to finish the Port Phillip heads dredging by the time of the AFL Grand Final, while all the contaminated matter in the Yarra River and the Port Phillip channel should be placed in a bund by the end of next month. This would settle for 140 days before being capped with clear sand, he said. The report said the channel deepening work is 31 per cent complete.

In other news, Port of Melbourne Corporation has posted a total revenue for 2007-08 of AUD171.5 million, up 20 per cent year on year. The increase in revenue was mainly attributed to the additional charges levied to pay for the channel deepening project.

According to Mr Bradford these levies generated AUD12 million more in revenue, comprising AUD11 million from a AUD31.50 charge per TEU plus AUD1 million from a levy on ships whose draft exceeded 12.1 metres.

During the reporting period, net profit almost doubled from the previous year to AUD43.3 million. Container trade grew by 7.8 per cent year on year to 2.256 million TEU, setting a new Australian record and lifting Melbourne into the world's top 50 container ports, the report added.