GrainCorp’s Yamala site is on track to open on 1 September. Photo: GrainCorp

GRAINCORP is on track to open its new Yamala site in Central Queensland (CQ) to grain deliveries early next month, with the rail loader due to be operational by the end of October.

GrainCorp Yamala project manager Dane McKinnon sent a drone up recently to capture the progress and says it’s exciting to see years of hard work come to fruition.

“Everything is coming together now and it’s exciting to see the site taking shape as part of CQ Inland Port,” he said.

“We’ve had a few challenges to work through along the way, but that’s all part of being in the construction game.”

Stage 2 works on the site started in May, building civil foundations, a sample stand, two weighbridges, a storage shed and workshop, and a chemical shed.

The concrete walls for three of GrainCorp Yamala’s four 30,000-tonne grain bunkers were delivered recently, and construction has started on its rail outload facility.

This will boast a bin capacity of 2000t, and a load rate of 500t per hour.

GrainCorp is eastern Australia’s major bulk handler, and the dominant operator in CQ, which is a significant exporter of chickpeas, cotton, mungbeans, sorghum and wheat.

GrainCorp Yamala is part of the Central Queensland Inland Port (CQIP), a federal, state and local-government funded development 25 kilometres east of Emerald.

With a 20t axle load on rail wagons, bulk grain loaded at Yamala can go direct to export terminals at Gladstone, Mackay and Brisbane, or in containers to be shipped out of Brisbane, Gladstone and Townsville.

Bulk earthworks have started on the adjacent intermodal terminal within CQIP, which will allow grain, pulses and cotton to be packed into containers for export.

At present, much of the containerised grain and pulses exports from CQ are packed at sites on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland, or in Brisbane.

The establishment of CQIP as a home for the region’s container packers will enable the path from farm to export to be shortened considerably.

CQIP’s intermodal facility will also allow imports and domestic inputs for the agricultural and mining sector to come into the region by rail.

Source: GrainCorp, CQIP