Greater Shepparton Mayor Dennis Patterson said it is thought that the Government is now looking at a public-private partnership model for this significant project. “Council, in collaboration with Narrandera, Leeton, Griffith, Urana, Berrigan, Jerilderie, Mitchell and Moira Shire Councils formed the Food Bowl Inland Rail Alliance (FBIRA) and has been lobbying hard for due diligence to be undertaken on the Food Bowl Route, through Shepparton, Tocumwal and Narrandera given the extraordinary export growth being experienced in these regions,” Cr Patterson said.
The Federal Government responded to this call and engaged Deloitte to develop an 'Economic Analysis of the Shepparton option'.
"This report identified future volumes on the Shepparton route significantly favoured Shepparton with 2025 projections for the Shepparton route 1,757,000 tonnes - far exceeding the Albury route projections of just 220,000 tonnes,” Cr Patterson said. "Whilst the Food Bowl Route would be advantageous to Shepparton, all Council is demanding is informed decision making. The 2010 ARTC route is 130 km longer and an additional four hours travelling time, so when combined with the volume projections it becomes significantly attractive for investors to more favourably consider the Shepparton route. Let the market decide the ultimate route".
Get the full story on GSCC's June trip to Canberra HERE.
