The Federal Government has announced the planning approval for a $182 million upgrade of three berths at Port Kembla, located in the Illawarra region in New South Wales.
The upgrade will help to guarantee the supply of Illawarra steel for new homes, schools, hospitals, and transport infrastructure.
The Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the upgrade will help rebuild the domestic manufacturing industry in NSW and will support more than 14,500 jobs.
“Our construction industry is the largest user of Port Kembla’s steel, using more than 70 per cent of the site’s total output,” Scully said.
The Federal Minister added that the approval provides more capacity to import coking coal for steelmaking and keep production flowing when local coal supplies are scaled back from 2028.
“It’s an investment in jobs, training, and the Illawarra community, but importantly it’s a vote of confidence in NSW manufacturing and construction, providing the locally sourced steel they need to build the homes, hospitals, and transport infrastructure NSW needs,” Scully said.
Minister for Illawarra Ryan Park said the revamp of the three berths will lead to more local steel being used for major NSW Government projects, supporting thousands of local jobs.
“Illawarra steel contributes around $10.3 billion to the NSW economy each year, and this decision secures the continued direct employment of around 4500 people, together with another 10,000 people in the supply chain,” Park said.
BlueScope Australian chief executive Tania Archibald said the planning approval demonstrates the NSW Government’s commitment to secure the future of steelmaking in Australia.
“BlueScope operates five berths at Port Kembla to import a range of raw materials such as iron ore, coal, limestone, recycled steel scrap, and export steel products to customers, and the continued supply of these raw materials is critical to the operations of the steelworks,” Archibald said.
“This infrastructure upgrade represents a significant investment to secure the asset for the long-term whilst supporting future technology options for low-emissions steelmaking.”