Freight Hub gets green light
South East Melbourne (SEM) welcomes the State and Federal Governments’ announcement of construction of the South East Freight Hub at Dandenong. A new track will connect the main rail line with Dandenong South-based Salta Properties freight hub, helping reduce road congestion in Melbourne’s growing south east region.
South East Melbourne Chair Simon McKeon said:
“The South East Freight Hub has been a SEM priority for many years.“A majority of South East Melbourne exporters have told us that it costs more to get freight to and through the Port of Melbourne than the cost of the overseas leg of the export trip. SEM has worked tirelessly in recent years advocating for this project. We’ve had meetings with Ministers and MPs in Canberra and Spring Street and made submissions to State and Federal Budgets, as well as advocacy in the media, in the community and on social media.
Mr McKeon said:
“The South East Freight Hub will help local manufacturers to export their goods to overseas markets more efficiently and at lower cost as well as providing similar relief for importers.”
“It is vital for jobs that our exports remain globally competitive.”
“It is a win for manufacturers, a win for the environment, a win for the whole southeast of Melbourne and a win for Victoria.”South East Melbourne is a key freight and logistics centre for Victoria with Amazon, Bunnings and Woolworths all choosing to locate national distribution centres in the region.To create the South East Freight Hub, the Australian Government invested $18.3 million in the project, and the Victorian Government invested $9.7 million.“
The South East Freight Hub has been high on the agenda for the South East Melbourne group of councils and for local industry. It's a great win for community advocacy.”
“We are really pleased to see the Federal and State Government working together. It bodes well for what can be done as part of a broader City Deal for Melbourne’s south east when all three levels of government come to the table,” Mr McKeon said.