Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Moorebank Intermodal Company Limited on the $2bn freight hub at Moorebank in Sydney’s south west.
The development, roughly the size of the Sydney CBD, is designed to significantly support the growth of freight in Australia, provide a solution to freight congestion and reduce the number of freight trucks on road.
Originally brought on to advise on the delivery strategy and procurement planning, Herbert Smith Freehills wound up advising Moorebank on all facets of the transaction, including construction, real estate, tax, stamp duty, environment and planning, OH&S, intellectual property and information technology.
Peter Paradise, lead partner on the advisory team said Herbert Smith Freehills will continue to work with Moorebank to reach a financial close on the transaction later in the year.
“Our team successfully facilitated the pioneering cooperation between the Australian Government and the private sector to help improve the efficient transportation of goods in New South Wales and beyond. We are excited about the positive impact this will have on our community,” he said.
“We are very privileged to be the primary adviser on such a landmark, large-scale development which will affect nearly every resident in the Sydney metropolitan area through an integrated logistics chain.”
The facility was necessarily complex as it will be built on land owned by separate entities, making the facility as far away from as many homes as possible and allows the space to create the development with noise reducing features.
“It involved both the Commonwealth and Qube and Aurizon contributing two large neighbouring areas of land into trust for use by the terminal and adjacent logistics warehousing for 99 years,” said Paradise.
“MIC and SIMTA will implement other measures to reduce the impact of the facility, including local intersection upgrades and standards for trains using the terminal to reduce their noise and diesel emissions.”
King & Wood Mallesons acted for Qube and
Corrs Chambers Westgarth advised Aurizon.
