Export port hotspots at the cutting edge of The Resources Revolution

By Terry Ryder, 24th September 2012

Australia will soon be the world’s No.1 supplier of LNG, overtaking Qatar, Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s one of the key pieces of information for property investors seeking to exploit the Resources Revolution, still very much alive despite recent headlines.

The eight biggest resources projects across Australia are all LNG enterprises, totaling $200 billion in capital expenditure. There are also big ventures focused on coal and iron ore.

When these are completed, and product starts to flow, there will be impacts throughout the economy.

One of those impacts is demand for export facilities.

Cities and towns with existing or proposed export infrastructure will be among the greatest beneficiaries. (http://www.hotspotting.com.au/report/178-national-top-10-export-port-hotspots)

Australia already has some of the world’s largest export ports. Newcastle is considered to have the biggest coal export facility worldwide and Port Hedland is a world leader in iron ore exports.

But unprecedented expansion is coming up.

Major development projects to create export port facilities are in planning and jointly total around $60 billion. These are largely in the key mining states of Queensland and Western Australia, but with big projects also in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

Towns and cities with these ventures in their backyards will receive considerable impetus from the economic activity and jobs generated.

Bowen, a town in North Queensland with a population of just 15,000, is having $8 billion spent on its export port at Abbot Point, as well as further billions to be invested in rail links from the Galilee Basin coal mines to the export facilities.

Similarly massive investment is planned for the Port of Hay Point just outside Mackay – while Gladstone, already targeted for $70 billion in LNG processing facilities, will receive further impetus from a $5 billion expansion of its port facilities to service coal miners, plus a second venture for new port facilities announced recently.

The ever-expanding Newcastle port has proposals from three different entities to create coal export terminals, with investment totaling $8.5 billion.

The top 10 locations around Australia benefiting from this expansion are detailed in The Port Report: Top 10 Export Port Hotspots. (http://www.hotspotting.com.au/report/178-national-top-10-export-port-hotspots)

Terry Ryder

Terry is the owner and creator of hotspotting.com.au, which provides information to property investors on how to identify emerging markets before they’re common knowledge.

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