Wagga Wagga City Council and Visy Logistics partner on proposed RiFL Hub

The owner of the biggest freight volume in the region, Visy Logistics, has partnered with Wagga Wagga City Council on the proposed Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RiFL) Hub.

Visy Logistics (incorporating Visy Intermodal, Visy Contract Logistics, Visy Global Forwarding and Visy Global Logistics) was established in 2006 to integrate the internal and global supply chains of the Visy Group, a global leader in the packaging, paper, and resource recovery industries with more than 120 sites across Australasia.

Since that time, Visy Logistics has grown in scale, scope and sophistication and now services the requirements of Visy Group and an extensive non-Visy Group Customer base, employing over 400 staff at 120 sites across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

The parties have entered into a Heads of Agreement, which provides Council and Visy Logistics with a framework moving forward.

“We are excited to enter into a partnership with a company that has the size and experience of Visy Logistics,” Council’s General Manager Peter Thompson said.

“The RiFL Hub has the potential to become a transformative piece of infrastructure for Wagga Wagga and the wider region.

“It will provide a significant and long-lasting benefit to current and future businesses, as well flow-on effects for the broader community.

“The aim of the Public-Private Partnership is for Visy Logistics to fund the construction of the freight terminal and then operate the freight terminal on a long-term lease.”

“Visy Logistics is focused on investing in integrated logistics solutions & enablers, across the complete supply chain, both locally and internationally,” Executive General Manager of Visy Logistics Sean Richards said.

“Critical to our strategy in Australia is the appropriate & effective deployment of Visy Groups’ critical mass of freight for the purposes of developing an integrated and complimentary network of road and rail infrastructure solutions across Australia; and offering these networks and their related services to the general market.”

“RiFL presents a unique opportunity for Visy Logistics to utilise the Visy Group’s volumes for the purposes of enabling the development and realisation of a sustainable and efficient logistics solution, connecting our current and future customers in the Riverina to world markets.”

Moving forward with Visy Logistics

Council entered into a Framework Agreement with Genesee & Wyoming Australia (GWA) in April last year. During the agreement’s exclusivity period, it became clear to both Council and GWA that the best partner for Council was Visy as it has the logistics business and freight load to make the project viable.

Years of hard work starting to pay off

A strategic master plan for the 1800-hectare Bomen Business Park site was completed in 2009 and featured the proposed RiFL Hub and the roadworks required to make the project possible.

Works began with the Eunony Bridge Road Deviation project in 2014-15 and were followed by the $35M Bomen Enabling Roads project, which was completed last year.

Tenders have been received and are currently being assessed for the strengthening and widening of the Eunony Bridge. This will be the final major road link for the project and allow Higher Mass Limit (HML) vehicles to access Bomen Business Park more easily.

“Developing a high productivity freight route for Bomen Business Park has been a priority for Council for a number of years,” Mr Thompson said.

“The opening of the Bomen Enabling Roads was a significant milestone and with the Eunony Bridge works moving forward, the pieces are falling into place as we continue to work closely with Visy Logistics on the proposed freight terminal.”