Woolworths has appointed Richard Crookes Constructions to build its Moorebank National Distribution Centre (DC) in Western Sydney.
Building works have begun on the project, which aims to strengthen the company’s supply chain arm – Primary Connect.
The DC will service more than 1000 Woolworths supermarkets across Australia and will be collocated with the Moorebank Regional Distribution Centre, which will start construction later.
Woolworths Group will invest around $700-$780 million in the technology and fitout of both distribution centres in partnership with Dematic and Vanderlande. Qube will invest around $440 million to build the distribution centres, with Woolworths signing an initial 20 year lease.
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said the challenges of the past year have put a spotlight on the critical role our distribution centres play in providing the essential food and everyday needs Australian communities rely on.
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“To keep pace with growing demand and ever evolving customer expectations, we need to continue to invest in new technology and capacity to power our next generation supply chain,” Banducci said.
“We have ambitions to offer a more tailored range of products in our stores. This has traditionally been constrained by what we can hold in our distribution centres.
“Once both centres are up and running, we’ll be able to carry up to 8,000 additional products in our range than we can in our existing facilities. This will help unlock a much better shopping experience for our customers.”
Moorebank Logistics Park’s direct access to a dedicated freight rail line from Port Botany, with onward connections to the national rail network, will help take at least 26,000 truck movements off Australian roads each year.
Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher said the Federal Government has made a significant $466 million investment to support the efficient and effective movement of freight in Sydney through the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal and surrounding logistics park, in turn creating thousands of jobs for the region.
“Our Government remains committed to delivering this significant infrastructure project. To support the efficient operation of the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal and improve traffic flows around it, the recent budget included an investment of $87.5 million for the M5 Motorway – Moorebank Ave/Hume HWY intersection upgrade,” Fletcher said.
Richard Crookes Constructions MD Jamie Crookes said the project is an important development for Woolworths, as well as for the local and broader NSW community.
“We look forward to partnering with Woolworths to deliver a building we can all be proud of, and to generate local employment opportunities by engaging more than 80 per cent of the workforce from the local Western Sydney region,” Crooks said.