Kwinana: A $30b industrial revolution is set to transform Perth’s southern industrial strip

A $30 billion industrial revolution is coming to the heartland of WA’s manufacturing sector as a wave of new projects is set to spark renewal. The big pipeline of investment is looming in Kwinana and surrounding suburbs — a region hit in recent years by the closures of BP’s oil refinery and Alcoa’s nearby alumina plant. As the lights go out at those ageing assets, there has been the promise of green energy investment. BP wants to revive its site to become a $1b-plus hub of lower-emissions plane fuel, while Woodside wants to build the H2Perth hydrogen plant further south. State and Federal governments will splash cash too, with pledges for a new outer harbour and infrastructure for nuclear submarines. Upgrades to the Henderson shipyard will reportedly cost between $12b and $20b. “The future for Kwinana is extremely bright,” Kwinana Industry Council chief executive David Harrison told The West Australian. “Over the next decade or so it’s going to go absolutely gangbusters. “This is Kwinana’s moment, it’s its time.” Premier Roger Cook said projects planned in the precinct were “at the cutting edge of the global clean energy race”. “As the local member and a resident, I’ve always said Kwinana is the centre of the universe — and now, it’s truly become the centre of WA’s economic transformation,” he said. “By working with industry, my Government is on track to deliver tens of thousands of new jobs at Kwinana over the coming decades, setting up WA’s economy for the future.” The expectations are high. But there are plenty of hurdles to overcome. Build baby, build Analysis by The West found more than $30b of proposed projects through Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham. Ambitions for the region have been sky-high through the green energy transition, sparking hopes for industrial zones along Perth’s southern coast to become Australia’s “Lithium Valley”. Government utility Synergy led the charge with an energy storage battery and the second stage should be switched on within weeks. But the laws of economics — much like the laws of gravity — have kept some proposals on the ground. China’s Tianqi Lithium and Wesfarmers-backed Covalent Lithium have both built refineries which were hailed as the vanguard of a new battery metals industry. Yet the metal’s price has been on a roller-coaster, forcing Tianqi to ice its second processing train in 2019. Hydrogen projects are also yet to gain momentum. Woodside has punted back plans for the H2Perth hydrogen project to find a buyer for what the plant produces, while BP’s green hub will hinge on Federal backing. Container the excitement Backers of the proposed Westport outer harbour look set to be waiting for the new container port longer than they had hoped. It will not open to ships until at least 2040, amid ongoing debate over exactly when the State Government’s $7b-plus project is needed. The proposal to build a new port took centre stage in the 2017 State Election, when it was touted as the alternative freight route that could put a stop to the controversial Roe 8 highway extension. Yet container traffic through Fremantle Port has grown much slower than forecast by the Westport Taskforce. That has poured doubt on projections that the existing port’s infrastructure links would hit capacity in the mid-2030s. The low growth scenario — hidden in Westport’s business case — shows container volumes may not hit Freo’s limit until after 2045. But the State Government has pushed on with the flagship project, promising $273 million late in 2024 to pay for further planning. Jobs and homes The region will take centre stage in the AUKUS alliance when American nuclear submarines start arriving in 2027. But a social and economic impact assessment penned by consultancy RPS Group had some sober advice for the Department of Defence as it readies Garden Island for those visits. Roughly 700 US personnel are expected through the program — and thousands of construction workers — adding demand to a severely strained housing market. Concerns about local housing shortages were so bad that Defence was warned to “avoid using caravan and mobile home parks” for staff accommodation. Almost 70 per cent of local residents were worried AUKUS would lead to higher home prices and lower availability, a survey commissioned by RPS and obtained by The West Australian showed. “These areas are under considerable housing market pressure, characterised by rising costs and insufficient housing stock to meet the growing demand,” the RPS report said. The report said the rental market through Perth’s southern coastal suburbs was “heavily constrained” with a higher rate of affordability problems compared to the metro area broadly. Adding to the pressure, RPS found that almost half of local residents are worried the AUKUS plans would inhibit access to childcare and schools. Yet Defence reckons HMAS Stirling is the best place to house the subs as the navy’s Sydney base is “at capacity” with no space for further development. Defence Housing Australia pledged to build at least 330 new homes in the area earlier this year, with hundreds more under consideration. RPS reckoned more than 5000 workers are expected to be needed when construction on the new defence infrastructure peaks in the early 2030’s. That will be a jobs bonanza in Perth’s south but will spark competition with investment by businesses. Industry Council boss David Harrison said the Government would need to coordinate and prioritise projects to ensure investment does not crowd out the private sector. “These are good problems to have,” he said. “I’d rather local industry dealing with growth challenges than a slowing economy.”

Kwinana: A $30b industrial revolution is set to transform Perth’s southern industrial strip

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