Avon Industrial Park has access to the Great Eastern Highway, and the interstate rail network. Photo: Avon Industrial Park

PLANS to develop a new primary grain-receival site on the western edge of Western Australia’s central Wheatbelt are taking shape now that CBH Group has purchased a 105-hectare site at the Avon Industrial Park.

The WA Government said in a statement released last week that the site was a critical component in CBH’s goal to increase monthly peak export capacity from 1.6 million tonnes (Mt) to 3Mt by 2033.

To be known as CBH Meenaar, the site on Leeming Road, Grass Valley, will see the single largest development in the park’s history.

Managed by DevelopmentWA and overseen by the Avon Industrial Park Advisory Committee, a sub-committee of the Wheatbelt Development Commission, the Avon Industrial Park has experienced strong growth over the past 18 months.

In October 2021, the WA Government allocated $200,000 through the Regional Development Leverage Fund in partnership with CBH to undertake road and rail design and costing assessments to improve freight access and complement future expansion of the park.

The park sits on interstate rail and road networks, and is already home to businesses servicing the rural, resources and mineral-processing industries.

Avon Industrial Park is located east of Northam, and 130km from CBH’s Kwinana export terminal. Photo: Avon Industrial Park

The Avon Industrial Park is part of a suite of strategic freight network assets near Northam, bolstering the town’s position as a burgeoning intermodal freight hub on the doorstep of the Perth metropolitan area.

WA Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said CBH Group’s investment was significant for the Wheatbelt and Northam, and will greatly benefit both the regional economy and WA’s agricultural industry.

“The investment and work under way to further activate and expand the park forms part of the State Government’s broader commitment to diversify regional economies and enhance freight efficiencies to benefit WA businesses.”

Source: WA Government