The Commonwealth Government has approved Moorebank Intermodal Company (MIC) entering into an agreement with the Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance (SIMTA) to develop and operate the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal in South Western Sydney.

SIMTA, a consortium of Qube Holdings and Aurizon Holdings, will develop and operate the open access freight terminal on a joint precinct comprising Commonwealth land and adjoining land owned by SIMTA.

The precinct will include an import-export (IMEX) freight terminal with eventual capacity for up to 1.05 million containers per year, and an interstate freight terminal with capacity for up to 500,000 containers a year. Stage 1 will see 250,000 containers per year through the IMEX facility. The first stage of the interstate terminal will have a similar capacity. Subsequent stages will be developed in line with demand.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two tracts of land will be combined under a land trust and leased to SIMTA for 99 years. The contractual framework creates strong incentives for the terminal to achieve the Commonwealth's objective to improve national productivity through an efficient supply chain, increased freight capacity and better rail utilisation.

SIMTA has committed to build and operate the terminals and has development rights for associated warehousing at a total project cost of approximately A$1.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) over ten years.  The Commonwealth is expected to invest around $370 million in the development, including funding the rail connection between the terminal and the Southern Sydney Freight Line and land preparation works.

The IMEX terminal is expected to start operations in late 2017 and the interstate terminal in approximately 2019. MIC and SIMTA are working to obtain the relevant planning and environmental approvals for the precinct. If the initial approvals are obtained, construction of the first stage is expected to commence in the second half of calendar year 2015.

In December 2010 we announced that SIMTA achieved commercial closure for the project.

In April 2012, the Australian Government committed to the construction of the Intermodal Terminal (IMT) at Moorebank. Later on 13 December 2012 the previous Government announced the establishment of the Moorebank Intermodal Company Limited (MIC) and the appointment of the Chair and Directors to the MIC Board to facilitate the development of an IMT.

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