2 weeks Ago By Sean Parnell
The Port of Brisbane is seeking state and federal government approval to dredge 96.5 million cubic metres of material from Moreton Bay to allow for larger shipping lanes and an expanded freight precinct. Under the $3.
5 billion project, shipping channels would be made deeper, and wider, with the spoils potentially dumped along the shoreline to allow for more port facilities on the airport side of the Brisbane River. The consortium that operates the port has approval to extend Fisherman Island, on the southern side of the river, and recently struck an extraordinary 50-year agreement to continue dumping surplus spoils around Mud Island. Under plans submitted to governments for approval, shipping lanes would be made deeper and wider, with the dredge spoils possibly used in a massive land reclamation project.
Credit: Nearmap However, the amount of material proposed to be removed under the 25-year Channel Enhancement Project is unprecedented and would require new dump sites – Dredge Material Placement Areas – in and around the bay. Documents lodged with the governments nominate a new reclamation area at Juno Point, near Brisbane Airport, which would allow for the eventual construction of parallel wharves extending about four kilometres into the bay. Other options include a further expansion of Fisherman Island towards Mud Island, and dumping more material in central or northern areas of the bay.
The consortium has sought to engage traditional owners and would need environmental approvals for the project to proceed, given its proximity to the Moreton Bay Marine Park and the Moreton Bay Ramsar wetland. Ministers have been briefed on the project in the lead-up to the Queensland and federal elections. It could become a political issue, given the recent rejection of a project found to threaten the wetland and tensions over aircraft noise generated by the Brisbane Airport expansion.
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