South Australia Government approved the widening of the Adelaide Outer Harbor Channel. Flinders Ports welcomed this development, saying that it is a positive move for the State’s economy and the national standing of its port facilities.
The Flinders Ports Development Application now approved by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure is concerning the widening of the channel at Outer Harbor by 40 metres.
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Flinders Ports Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stewart Lammin said that up until the ports could accommodate a limited number of the larger ships, which causes significant operational disruption.
In the future, there will be a further increase in vessel size which the current channel cannot accommodate. The 40m widening will enable safe passage for this size of vessels.
The new Flinders Ports project involves removing 1.55 million cubic metres of material from the shipping channel and placing it 30km offshore. That volume is about half the amount of material that was removed from Outer Harbor in a previous Channel Deepening project undertaken in 2005.
Finally, a Dredge Management Plan will be implemented to provide a clear plan for the monitoring and management of possible dredging impacts. This plan will be developed along with the EPA, before the works start.
