Construction to begin on Broome’s $200 million floating jetty after years of delays

The director of a major floating jetty project in Western Australia’s Kimberley says the construction phase of the project will begin tomorrow, two years after initially planned.       

The Kimberley Marine Support Base (KMSB) was first floated in 2018 as a $110 million floating jetty development in Broome designed to service oil, gas and tourism industries.

The jetty was originally meant to be operational this year, but it has faced major hurdles, including price hikes in construction materials, the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges in securing contractors.

Costs have now blown out to $200 million, which project director Andrew Natta said had been fully funded by private Australian investors.

Mr Natta said construction would start tomorrow.

“From tomorrow, they’ll start fabricating steel because it’s all modular,” Mr Natta said.

“You’ll see some activity this year, but then next year, you’ll see the main activity.”

The project is expected to create 260 jobs during construction and sustain 1,650 jobs in operation — including ensuring Indigenous employment across the project life span.

The final design is expected to be a 50-metre X 165-metre floating wharf platform, expected to be operational by 2025.

Much needed for the region

The existing Port of Broome is a fixed jetty reaching off the coast into Roebuck Bay, which poses challenges for loading and unloading vessels, including cruise ships, cattle transports and gas tenders, due to tidal activity in the area.

Water levels in Broome can change by 10 metres in just six hours.

The new jetty will sit alongside the port’s existing wharf, connected to land by an articulated causeway that will allow it to rise and fall with the tides. 

WA Ports Minister David Michael said the project would increase the region’s capacity across multiple industries, including supporting the Kimberley Mineral Sands project.

“It’s also important to have container trade come through Broome port to assist with resilience for food security and other things in the wet season,” Mr Michael said.

Project set to avoid future delays

Mr Natta defended previous delays to the project, claiming they were due to “misunderstandings.”

“There’s been some mention about false starts, but maybe they’re misunderstandings, rather,” he said.

“When I look at the time frame for the project, in major critical infrastructure, it’s actually pretty short.”

The project director said there were no concerns rising inflation would cause further delays and that the project had worked with construction contractor TAMS Group to ensure fixed costs.

Kimberley Ports Authority chief executive Luke Westlake said the construction phase of the project would have no major impacts on local recreation and culture.

He said the port authority would ensure the project maintained access to areas that were important to local people.

“KMSB and the construction company teams will continue to engage with the local community to keep them informed on the progression of the construction,” Mr Westlake said.