The Port of Brisbane Corporation is expanding its infrastructure and is seeking to lease two new container berths after trade forecasts identified the need for more berths and terminals.

Port of Brisbane CEO Jeff Coleman said the AUD202.5 million (USD154.8 million) expansion was needed to meet growth in logistics activities in south-east Queensland.

"Based on current container trade growth, capacity forecasts and operational performance benchmarks, we have identified the need for the new berths and their associated terminals to be operational by 2001 and 2013 respectively."

He said the Port of Brisbane was Australia's fastest growing container port.

"With compounding container trade growth of more than 11 per cent a year for the past five years, the trend is expected to continue as the population of south-east Queensland continues to grow."
Coleman said the port offered a valuable opportunity in the Australian market for stevedoring operations and integrated logistics activities, such as container parks and warehousing.

Last year the corporation began reclaiming 23 hectares of land at Fisherman Islands to ensure wharves and supporting infrastructure could be developed to meet growth.