Corporate

Port of Townsville

Since our establishment in 1864, the Port of Townsville has grown to service the expanding industries in Northern and North West Queensland. Products produced, mined and manufactured between Hinchinbrook and Burdekin Shire and west to Mount Isa to Townsville re the reason for our existence. 

Today, we are Australia’s largest sugar, lead, copper, zinc, fertiliser, molasses and live cattle port as well as the largest container and automotive port in Northern Australia, servicing 80% of its people with everyday goods. 

More than 8 million tonnes of goods, worth more than $10 billion, cross our wharves each year. Thanks to our customers, we are one of the country’s most diverse ports, handling 30 different commodities over eight berths. We provide global linkages to more than 130 ports and 44 countries with over 75% of our trade exchanged with South East Asia every year.

More than 300 hectares of mainly reclaimed Port lands accommodate extensive cargo storage and handling facilities, including fully enclosed dry bulk storage and ship loading facilities, fuel and chemical tank farms, warehousing and logistics facilities, container terminals, automotive storage and project cargo laydown areas and strategic defence and cruise facilities. 

Our Port is well connected by road to major national highways north, south and west. This includes a dedicated triple road train approved Port Access Road that links our Port to the Bruce and Flinders Highways through the Southern Eco Industrial Corridor. The 4,900 hectare State Development Area and 1,500 hectare Lansdown Precinct are strategically positioned industrial lands for future industries due to proximity to the Port and links to the North-West Minerals Province. 

Existing rail connections include the Mount Isa Rail Line linking 1,300 kilometres to Mount Isa, and the North Coast Line extending 1,000 kilometres south to Brisbane and 450 kilometres north to Cairns. Two intermodal terminals are located less than 10 kilometres from our Port. 

Recognising the region’s vast opportunities and need for sustainable long-term growth, we completed a comprehensive Environmental Impact Study (EIS) to facilitate our expansion over the next 30 years. The EIS for the Port Expansion Plan was approved by the State and Commonwealth Governments in 2017 and 2018. Stage One of the Port Expansion Plan, the $251 million Channel Upgrade project, commenced in 2019 and will deliver a wider shipping channel and a 62 hectare Port Reclamation Area.  

Over the last decade, $1 billion has been spent on infrastructure and supply chain investments to modernise and improve the efficiency and capacity of our Port.

Port of Lucinda

Located 100 kilometres north of Townsville, the Port of Lucinda exports raw sugar grown in the Ingham district. It is equipped with onshore fully enclosed, sugar handling and storage facilities, as well as a single trestle jetty and conveyor to an offshore berth and shiploader.

The jetty is one of the longest of its type in the world, extending 5.7 kilometres out to sea and dipping 1.2 metres as it follows the curvature of the earth. Sugar takes 22 minutes to travel along the conveyor from the onshore storage sheds to the shiploader, which makes it one of the fastest sugar loading ports in the world. The sugar terminal is owned by Sugar Terminals Limited.