Institute for Social Sustainability

Economic: Infrastructure

Report on Current Transport and Communications Infrastructure in the Pilbara

Robyn Smolarek

1. Introduction

The Pilbara region contributes substantially to the West Australian economy through its heavy resource and industry sector. There is substantial infrastructure in place to facilitate economic development in the region, some of this infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies.

While industry and sustainability are often at odds the challenge is to develop infrastructure that can contribute to the sustainability of the region. The distance of the region from other centres and the distances between centres in the region increase the difficulty of this challenge.

This is a report on the existing transport and communications infrastructure in the Pilbara region. Other infrastructure is covered in the Water and Energy topics.

2. Transport

The Pilbara's distance from other population and economic centres make transport infrastructure especially important to the region. The region has sealed and unsealed roads, licensed and unlicensed airports, ports, marine infrastructure and rail. Long roads and big trains moving iron ore across the red countryside are an almost intrinsic part of the Pilbara community and the long roads that people have travelled give the community shared experiences and a sense of place. There is a great sense of timelessness and a stirring from within as you drive past the breakaway country surrounding Karratha.

The need for a good transport network is both for commercial and private purposes.

It is important to note that there is no government run transport system for passengers between Perth and the Pilbara. The closest service is a Transwa bus to Meekatharra and Kalbarri. Several transport companies provide daily freight to major Pilbara centres.

2.1 Roads

In 2001 there were 8 593km of roads in the Pilbara (ConnellWagner, p61). The two main roads in the region are the Great Northern Highway which links Port Hedland to Newman and other inland centres further south and the North West Coastal Highway which runs along the Pilbara coast.

Towns linked to the major highways with minor sealed roads are Onslow, Parabadoo, Tom Price, Dampier, Wickham and Port Samson. Unsealed roads are important routes of travel in isolated regions. Most stations and Aboriginal communities are serviced by unsealed roads.

2.2 Rail

The Pilbara's rail network totals 1264km's in length. The network is owned and operated by BHP Billiton Iron Ore and the Pilbara Rail Company; a joint venture between Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd and Robe River Iron Associates. It is used to transport iron ore from the inland operation to coastal ports.
There is capacity for third parties to use the facilities under the State Agreements Act; however the companies involved are not willing to allow third parties to use the rail infrastructure, despite there being a clear legal situation:

"Use of the existing Pilbara railway is governed by the State Agreements Act …. Typically obliges railway owners to carry the freight of third parties upon reasonable terms and at reasonable charges, providing that this can be done without unduly prejudicing or interfering with their existing operation. No third party arrangements have been negotiated to date, primarily due to the limited number of potential access seekers." (Department of Resources Development, 2001, p63)

Negotiations are occuring to try and achieve some integration of rail access to accommodate future iron ore expansion in the Pilbara.

Table 1. Train Lines in the Pilbara

There has been talk on building a rail line from Karratha to Leonora and Kalgoorlie; however the line will not be feasible until $3 million worth of freight needs to be transported.

2.3 Marine Transport

There are three ports in the Pilbara, Port Hedland, Dampier and Port Walcott. The combined iron ore exports from these three ports comprise about 25 percent of the world's seaborne iron ore trade. In addition to the iron ore ports, there are boat harbours for commercial fishing and recreational vessels at Onslow and Cape Lambert.
Offshore 'there are specialised oil loading facilities at Barrow Island, Varanus Island and Thevernard Isalnd (Department of Resources Development. 2001. p.65)

2.3.1 Port Hedland

There are five berths situated within the inner harbour, two of which are owned and operated by the Port Authority. Of the three BHP Iron Ore berths, two are located at Nelson Point and one at Finucane Island.

Table 2. Port Hedland Port Details

2.3.2 Dampier Port

The Port of Dampier is one of Australia's largest tonnage Port with exports of iron ore, salt, LNG, LPG & condensate totalling 82 million tpa (tonnes per annum). The value of exports is in excess of $A 5 billion. Iron ore comprised 81 percent of the Port's total volume of exports. The total volume of imports was only 320,502 tonnes. A total of 1,898 trade vessels used the Port in 2000/01. There are seven berths; the main or Western berth can accept vessels of up to 35,000. Illustration sourced:
tonnes displacement. The Eastern berth is suitable for smaller craft- Supply vessels etc. Three berths are used permanently; Hamersley Iron's Parker Point Iron Ore Berth, Woodside Energy's Withnell Bay Loading Terminal and Dampier Salt's Mistaken Island Salt Berth.

2.3.3. Cape Lambert/ Port Walcott

Port Walcott is located near Cape Lambert. The Port is managed by Robe River Mining Co Pty Ltd. The Port is used to ship iron ore from Robe River's iron ore operation based at Pannawonica (200km) and West Angelas mine (417km) - note still being developed. The ore wharf is a 444 metre long open pile structure, reached by a 2,341 metre long finger pier supporting two 1.52 metre wide conveyors and a one-lane, light roadway. It has a loading capacity of 9000tph.

2.3.4. Fishing Recreational Boating Facilities

The Department of Transport operates two harbours in the Pilbara, at Point Samson (John's Creek) and Onslow (Beadon Creek). These primarily service the fishing industry, as well as general marine services.
At Onslow there is a 50 metre Jetty and 12 mooring piles. It is a publicly owned and run facility used mostly by fishing and charter vessels.

Point Samson Boat Harbour underwent an upgrade in 1999. It presently has 17 pens, 7 of these are part of the upgrade. It has a 35m land backed wharf suitable for heavy lifting with power and water supply facilities. There is also a 42m jetty.
There are launching pads at Cossack, Fortescue River, Karratha and several at Dampier - Foul Point, Withnell Bay and Burrup Peninsula.

2.4. Air Travel Services

The four major sealed aerodromes in the region are located at Karratha, Newman, Paraburdoo and Port Hedland. There are many private unlicensed airstrips in the region that facilitate stations, mines and Aboriginal Communities.

The region is serviced by 3 companies. Quantaslink provides services to Karratha, Newman, Paraburdoo and Port Hedland; Northwest Regional provides services to Port Hedland and Karratha while Skywest travels to Newman. Mining companies also hire contract Air service companies to provide transport to their staff.

Port Hedland is the only international airport in the region and the only one with air traffic controller. It has the capacity to accommodate planes as large as 737s

Onslow, Jigalong, Kunawarrji, Punmu, Parnngurr, Nanutarra Roadhouse, Munjina, Port Hedland and Karajini are some of the airstrips that have received funding from the Regional Airports Development (RADS) to upgrade facilities. Newman and Jigalong are recipients of a combined $123, 380 of the 2003-4 RADS funding.

2.5 Public Transport

There is public transport in Port and South Hedland, it operates during daytime and the residents of Port Hedland want the service upgraded. Karratha has a school bus system.

There is no state transport service to the region. Greyhound bus services Newman to Perth travelling through the Great Northern Highway. McAfferty's/ Greyhound provide services from Perth to Darwin, travelling along the North West Coastal Highway.

3. Communications

Major towns in the region are connected to the Internet and have access to ISDN, STD, facsimile, telex and data link services. Parts of Karratha also have access to broadband ADSL services. Residents and businesses in smaller communities and remote areas have Internet and data transfer access through Telstra's two-way satellite service.

ABC television is provided throughout the Pilbara region via the Homestead and Community Broadcasting Satellite Services (HACBSS), using the AUSSAT satellite system. Golden West Network and WIN are transmitted to the majority of towns in the region. SBS is available in some towns in the region. All major towns and most communities receive radio services.

Major metropolitan newspapers are available daily through the region. The Pilbara has two major newspapers - the North West Telegraph and the Pilbara News.

3.2 Mobile Coverage

GSM and CDMA coverage is available close to town centres.

3.3.1 Telecentres

Telecentres provide computers, the Internet, two-way 128kb videoconferencing, photocopiers, facsimile machines, printers, TV-Video machines, decoders, scanners and much more. All Telecentres have satellite receiver dishes which enable them to participate in conferences on a state, national or international basis (one way video two-way voice) through the State's Westlink satellite service. They are owned by the community. They receive assistance from the state government until self-sufficiency is obtained. There are three Telecentres in the Pilbara; Marble Bar, Onslow and Nullagine.

Conclusion

For a remote area the Pilbara is well provided with transport and communications infrastructure to enable the huge economic enterprises of the area to be efficient in the global markets in which they compete. Most settlements have good infrastructure therefore. However Aboriginal settlements inland (away from the resource projects) are not well provided for (this is pursued in the socio-cultural topics).

References

Western Australian Planning Commission. 1998, Karratha Area Development Strategy, Western Australian Planning Commission, Perth, Australia.

Department of Resources Development. 2001, Western Australian Resources Development Infrastructure Strategy, Connell Wagner Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia. Pp61-72 provides an analysis of present infrastructure and future needs.

Department of Transport and Pilbara Development Commission. 1997, Pilbara Regional Transport Strategy, Department of Transport and Pilbara Development Commission, Perth, Australia.

Pilbara Development Commission, 1998, Pilbara Infrastructure Needs Current and Future Draft Report, Pilbara Development Commission, Perth, Australia.

Port Hedland Area Planning Study

Electronic References

http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/default-pta.asp 8/09/03

http://www.phpa.wa.gov.au/.htm Bby Field 8/09/03

http://www.pdc.wa.gov.au Pilbara Development Commission 28/08/03

http://www.cciwa.com.au/training/introprc.pdf Pilbara Rail Company 20/09/03

http://www.telecentres.wa.gov.au/#state Department of Local Government and Regional Development 21/09/03

http://www.pdc.wa.gov.au/importinfo/infrastructure.htm Pilbara Development Corporation 31/08/03

http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/imarine/rec_boating/planning/ramps.html 10/09/03

http://www.roberiver.com Robe River Iron Ore 18/09/03

http://www.dpa.wa.gov.au/index.html keiron throssell 12/09/03

http://www.dpa.wa.gov.au/facilities.htm 18/09/03