The project has opened up Victoria's sea highway to the world.

The recently completed $248 million channel deepening project in Victoria will deliver an extra $2 billion to the state's economy over the next 30 years.

According to Premier John Brumby, the project has opened up Victoria's sea highway to the world, boosting trade volumes into the port.

"Just over a year ago, 60% of container vessels calling at Melbourne were potentially draught-affected, with serious implications for the wider logistics chain and impacting exports.

"Since the completion of channel deepening, on average at least one vessel every two days has utilised the increased draught depth, with 74 vessels benefiting in the June quarter."

In the six months from January to June, container volumes grew at an average monthly rate of 15.8% - the strongest ever performance for the port's core trade.

The project created about 2300 jobs during construction, with port activities supporting a further 14,000 jobs