Funding approved for $400 million Darwin ship lift

SMEC welcomes the announcement of A$300 million in funding to help build a new ship lift facility in Darwin, Australia, in addition to the A$100M already committed by the Northern Territory Government.

SMEC welcomes the announcement of A$300 million in funding to help build a new ship lift facility in Darwin, Australia, in addition to the A$100M already committed by the Northern Territory Government. The announcement was made by the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, who approved a loan through the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

The announcement has been made on the back of significant Front-End Engineering Design by SMEC’s Ports & Maritime team, who delivered site investigations, feasibility and options analysis and preliminary designs for the proposed ship lift facility.The Darwin ship lift is expected to lift vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes and accommodate four wharves and 20 hectares of hardstand area for repair, maintenance and storage of vessels, a wash down bay and paint and blast facilities.

Delivery of this infrastructure, which upon completion will be the largest ship lift in Northern Australia, will build important strategic capability for the Territory, while supporting local businesses and creating hundreds of new and ongoing jobs for the community.

The proposed ship lift will be operated by the Paspaley Group as a multi-user facility for industries including offshore petroleum, fishing, pearling, Defence, Border Force, tug boats and other commercial vessels.