Flinders Port Holdings (FPH) is set to invest $390 million in the Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal (FACT) to improve operational capacity and ensure continued efficiency over the next two years.
The investment, which marks the most significant spend at FPH’s Port Adelaide facilities since it purchased FACT in 2012, marks the beginning of FPH’s GatewaySA Program of Works.
FACT has been the only container terminal in South Australia since it opened in 1978, with $350 million of the investment aimed at enhancing its operational capacity and efficiency.
The GatewaySA Program of Works covers multiple projects within the FACT precinct, including the procurement of two additional Super Post Panamax STS Cranes which are set to be the largest in Australia, a 135 metre berth extension, upgrades to IT systems, new terminal access and egress, expansion of the Empty Container Depot, new sitewide services, pavements and hardstands and Proof of Concept of an Auto Rubber Tyre Gantry operating mode.
With the traditional port ecosystem changing, demographical, technological and sustainability drivers are affecting daily business and shaping future operations. The GatewaySA Program of Works is an opportunity to address these changes.
FPH CEO Stewart Lammin said the GatewaySA Program of Works represented a major sustaining capital upgrade, preparing the terminal for future demands, innovation, technology and growth.
“The FPH long-term Masterplan identified a need to perform a detailed assessment of the future operations for FACT,” Lammin said.
“As South Australia’s international trade gateway, we are committed to ensuring its long-term viability for the benefit of our customers and the local economy.”
Throughout the Program of Works, FACT will remain operational, continuing to deliver a safe and reliable service to its customers and industry partners.
“Communication, collaboration, careful staging and planning of these works will be key success factors,” Lammin said.
“The GatewaySA Team has established regular and consistent engagement with the teams at the terminal, the broader FPH business and key stakeholders including the transport industry.”
In recent weeks FPH has signed contracts for the procurement of the two new STS Cranes, the construction partner for the Berth 6 extension and the vendor for the TOS (Terminal Operating System).
The additional STS cranes will be the largest 65-tonne twin lift STS cranes in Australia. Total investment, including associated infrastructure upgrades, will be $60 million, and the cranes are expected to arrive on-site, fully assembled in mid-2027.
GatewaySA has engaged McConnell Dowell to deliver the extension of the quay-line at FACT, with mobilisation to site underway following a six-month Early Contractor Involvement planning and development period. Vessel operations will continue throughout the 18-month construction timeline.
With the purchase of the two additional STS cranes, plus the berth extension, FACT will be able to service two 366-metre vessels simultaneously.
“This increased capacity will instil confidence for our shipping line customers and enable the terminal to handle the largest container vessels currently calling Australian ports, but also larger container vessels that will call in the future,” Lammin said.
FPH has awarded the tender for its TOS – a software system that manages and optimises the movement of storage containers within a terminal – to Tata Consultancy Services. The upgraded TOS will perform vessel and yard planning, container tracking, resource allocation, data management and analytics.
Development works have also begun on land adjacent to the terminal, doubling the capacity of the Empty Container Depot, including full and empty reefer (refrigerated container) handling. The Empty Container Depot is an important link in the logistics chain, and this expansion will improve service levels for shipping lines, logistics providers, transport companies and import-export stakeholders.
Other projects within the GatewaySA Program of Works are in the final stages of design works, with pricing, site investigations and enabling works underway.
Along with the Program of Works at FACT, FPH has invested $40 million to upgrade plant to secure continuous and efficient operations, including 14 hybrid straddle carriers over the last three years. Over the past 12 months, FPH has also purchased three reach stackers and three empty container handlers.
To enable this growth and enhance supply chain efficiency, FPH is developing modern palletised storage and handling facilities, such as dry and cold storage warehouses. These new warehouses will be on FPH-owned land adjacent to FACT, reducing complexity, cost and access for customers.
The proposed warehouse development forms part of FPH’s broader strategic objective to drive containerised trade-growth through Outer Harbor, enhance supply chain resilience for South Australian exporters, and attract new contestable freight flows.
