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Industry News, Latest News, Projects, Victoria

Woolworths breaks ground on $135M distribution centre

Construction works have begun on Woolworths' new $135 million Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre (MFDC) in Truganina, in the city’s west.

Construction works have begun on Woolworths’ new $135 million Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre (MFDC) in Truganina, in the city’s west.

Vaughan Constructions will build the development, which is expected to create 200 construction jobs and 300 permanent new jobs when it opens in late-2020.

Woolworth’s MFDC will store and deliver fresh produce and chilled products to hundreds of Victorian supermarkets, co-located with the supermarket’s meat supplier Hilton Meat’s production facility. This will replace the current operations at the Mulgrave Produce distribution centre.

By doing so, the company aims to take up to 600 trucks off the West Gate Bridge each week, and a further reduce truck movements on Melbourne’s roads by 3000 per year.

At full capacity, more than one and a half million cartons a week will move through the MFDC.

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The development also aims to reach a five-star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, with a solar panel system included on the roof, charging points for electric trucks, and transport efficiencies that the company expect to save more than 400,000 litres of fuel each year.

Woolworths Chief Supply Chain Officer, Paul Graham, said the development will help the company deliver fruit and vegetables to its customers fresher, faster and more efficiently than ever before.

“At one-and-a-half times the size of the MCG field, the distribution centre will provide a significant uplift in capacity to support our continued growth in Victoria,” Graham said.

“We’re proud to be investing in a best-in-class supply chain network in Victoria – delivering fresher food to our customers, taking trucks off Melbourne’s roads, and creating hundreds of new jobs.”

Victorian Ports and Freight Minister, Melissa Horne, joined an event on-site to mark the start of construction.

“Woolworths’ decision to develop its new Melbourne Fresh Distribution centre at Truganina is a big win for locals in the western suburbs and a huge tick for our planners, who have been working with industry and local communities to take more trucks off local streets in the west,” Horne said.

“The Victorian Government is focused on delivering a range of initiatives to take thousands of trucks off local streets, build better connections for producers, and ensure Victoria remains Australia’s freight and logistics capital.”

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