Infrastructure: Moorebank relocation – Making way for the Intermodal| ADM August 2012

When the Federal Government announced its plans for an Intermodal Terminal facility at Moorebank in Sydney’s southwest in April, it triggered a project for the relocation of Defence units and facilities which will cost the taxpayer an estimated $870 million.

Known as the Moorebank Units Relocation (MUR) project, the activity will be funded both by Government and Defence, and the Defence share of the funding was announced in the recent budget.

Although subject to final parliamentary approval, it will oversee the relocation of 13 Defence units and four Defence facilities from Commonwealth owned and Defence-occupied land, including the School of Military Engineering.

The adjacent Defence National Storage and Distribution Centre is located on leased land and may also give way to a smaller, privately operated terminal facility. This venture, proposed by the Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance (SIMTA), made up of Cube Logistics and QR National railways, has yet to be finalised.

Most of the units to be relocated are Army units, located within the 220-hectare facility at Moorebank, including Steel Barracks, currently occupied by the SME. Most will be moved to nearby Holsworthy, however at least one will relocate to RAAF Amberley.

New facilities are to be built on a 50-hectare site within the Holsworthy Barracks complex to accommodate several units and facilities.

Intermodal terminal

The controversial Moorebank Intermodal Terminal Project was announced by the Federal Government on April 23rd. It is to be built by the private sector but operated by the Commonwealth and due to open in mid-2017.

Moorebank was chosen after the review of a detailed business case, because of its proximity to the Southern Sydney Freight line (Main South Line) and the M5 Motorway.

Also included in the project is the development of freight terminal facilities at Port Botany to facilitate the movement of a large amount of freight to and from the docks by rail. Most of the containerised shipping freight will in the future be transported between Port Botany and Moorebank by rail, before being transferred to road haulage, and vice-versa.

According to the Department of Finance and Deregulation, the Intermodal Terminal will remove 3,300 heavy trucks per day off the Sydney road network every day and is projected to provide around $10 billion of economic benefits, through reduced freight costs, traffic congestion and improved productivity.

As well as the obvious environmental benefits of removing such a large number of large vehicles from Sydney’s roads, the Government said construction of the port and terminal facilities will generate around 2,625 jobs and a further 1,700 in the southwestern Sydney region.

The IMT project still has to achieve final planning approval before it can progress, and the relocation of Defence from Moorebank is contingent upon this happening. However monies have been allocated and the move awaits a public works committee approval, possibly in August, to go ahead.

Moorebank unit relocation project

The Moorebank Unit Relocation (MUR) Project is part of a Liverpool Military Area Defence infrastructure restructure and renewal program, managed by the Defence Infrastructure Division. The largest of the units to be moved under the Moorebank Units Relocation Project is the School of Military Engineering, home to the Royal Australian Engineers, which have been onsite since 1940.

Moorebank is also a major centre for training, logistics and frontline support capabilities, including bomb detection, intelligence gathering and engineering units. However the facilities are ageing and will require a significant upgrade in the near future if the relocation does not go ahead as planned.

“The project is consistent with the Department of Defence’s long-term progressive consolidation strategy that has sought to improve operational efficiencies through increased co-location of Defence units. The Moorebank site is ageing and would have required significant capital investment in the future,” said a Defence Spokesperson. “The MUR Project provides an opportunity for cost effective capability upgrades and consolidation of military capability and support elements in one location at Holsworthy.”

Construction of the new site within the Holsworthy complex is due to begin later this year and will be staged to minimise impact. Some units will occupy temporary facilities within the facility for a period of time, before moving into their purpose built permanent lines.

“The project involves a relocation of units from Moorebank to Holsworthy, not a reduction in units or Defence personnel,” said Defence. “There will be a slight increase in personnel at Holsworthy due to the co-location established with other units in the Sydney region.”

The Holsworthy redevelopment program will deliver a new entry precinct with traffic management signals to ease the current problem of traffic leaving and entering the base and to enhance security; new live-in accommodation and local training facilities for the SME; a new Multi-user Depot for 5 Brigade; a new Mess, physical fitness complex, chapel and working and accommodation areas for ADF cadets when they are on-base. Other facilities are likely to include a heritage area, which will include the Engineer Museum collection and a memorial park.

Defence said the MUR project also aligns with its intention to operate from fewer, larger bases, thereby creating improved efficiencies.

“The project also involves the construction of a range of enabling facilities and other works to derive an optimum consolidated and efficient facilities solution for Holsworthy, including the bringing forward of works from other capital infrastructure projects,” said a Defence spokesperson.

“The relocation from Moorebank is planned as a single move into new permanent facilities at Holsworthy Barracks to minimise disruption to Army’s daily operations. There will be minimal disruption to the day to day operations of Army as relocations of units are planned during periods best suited to minimise interrupting Army’s planned activities.

“The project will ensure that Holsworthy remains a key Defence base in the long term and will re-establish the ‘Home of the Sapper’ with facilities suitable for training members for the diverse military engineering mission,” said the spokesperson.

One Moorebank unit which will not be relocating to Holsworthy however is 17 Construction Squadron, 6 Engineer Support Regiment, which instead will move to Amberley. Defence said the move will bring all Army’s construction engineers together under 6 ESR.

Timetable

With the intention to have the Moorebank IMT operational by 2017, there is a pressing need for Defence to vacate the Moorebank site as soon as possible. With this in mind, construction of the new facilities are planned to begin at Holsworthy in late 2012, with the main work program getting underway in January 2013. Defence said there will be a progressive occupation of the new facilities beginning in late 2013 and continuing through to the end of 2014. The SME is required to have vacated the Moorebank site by the end of 2014 and the 5th Brigade facilities and physical fitness complex will be completed in the second half of 2015. All works are due to be completed by October 2015.

To complete the project within the required timeframe, Defence estimates that around 2,000 construction jobs will be created between late 2012 and the end of 2015.

Funding

The project is, as mentioned earlier, being jointly funded by the Federal Government’s Nation Building Fund and the Defence Major Capital Facilities Program.

In the budget statement released in May, the Government said that, in addition to Defence’s contribution to returning the budget to surplus, decisions had been taken to “Address changes that have occurred in the Department’s resource position over the last year, which include a range of new cost pressures across the portfolio.” Included in these “priority areas of investment” was $330 million to relocate Defence Units from Moorebank and allow development of the Intermodal Transport Hub. Defence’s total share of the relocation costs is $352.9 million, with a further $517.1 million coming from the NBF.

Risk

The larger IMT program is yet to receive the final green light and Defence said the relocation of units from Moorebank is dependent upon the project becoming reality.

If the move does go ahead, the timetable is correspondingly tight, especially given the scope of work involved, and will need careful management if there is to be no disruption to the day-to-day activities of Army.

“The planned program of works that will extend over almost three years is one of the larger building projects planned for the Sydney region in the next three years,” said a Defence spokesperson. “The extensive works, in excess of 70 buildings, is expected to deliver in the required timeframe.”