Richmond Shire Council needs $30m to build inland port

Mayor John Wharton said they had conceived of the idea for a big freight terminal after the 2019 monsoon showed that most of the road and rail closures occurred west of the town.

"I've lived in the Richmond shire all my life, and whenever there's a big wet season, it's always the road and the railway line between Richmond and Oorindi up near Cloncurry, that washes out," he said.

"The 2019 flood is a good example - you could still drive a motor car from Richmond to Townsville, and the train line - there were only a couple of little bridges east of Richmond that needed some work and the train was back running again.

"So all the significant damage is west of Richmond."

Following the 2019 event, Cr Wharton said the council had constructed a load-out facility near the railway line for Incitec Pivot, who he said had an urgent need to keep supplying its product to the port at Townsville.

"We thought, well, we'll buy some land, and we'll set it up so it's an income stream for the council," he said.

The council has since negotiated for 485 hectares, 16 kilometres east of Richmond, purposely out of town and on high ground, and Cr Wharton said the site had been inspected by Queensland Rail planners.

"We have an MOU with the landholder, he's very supportive of it, and we've got the power - we've gone to Ergon and checked, there's plenty of power, and water," he said.

Once constructed, council would lease out blocks of land of varying size.

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It anticipates that mining companies, among other users, would stockpile material at the site, especially smaller operators squeezed out of depots and loading facilities by big players.

Cr Wharton said four mining companies had expressed interest in taking up leases on the site if it got off the ground.

"They'll stack their concentrate, they'll stack containers - it'll be a big setup," he said. "They'll pay probably a third of what they would pay at Roseneath, or Townsville, to store product here and they can still get it straight in to the port."

Bioenergy company Green Day Energy, whose pilot plant making torrified pellets from prickly acacia is currently situated on land leased in the town of Richmond, has already announced that it would like to set up permanently at the site.

The council will approach Queensland Cotton with the suggestion that a cotton gin be another of the lessees.

It estimates the total cost of setting up the site to be around $30 million, which it will be seeking a grant for.

"It'd be part of the north west regional transport strategy," Cr Wharton said. "It's pretty exciting - we're hoping to get some serious action on this issue this year."