The Western Australian Government has announced a multimillion-dollar investment to establish an iron ore railcar manufacturing production line and a centre of excellence in Karratha.
Minister assisting the minister for State and Industry Development, Stephen Dawson, said almost $8 million was being invested under the Government’s Local Manufacturing Investment Fund (LMIF).
“The opening of this new Rail Collaboration Centre in the Pilbara is another major step towards building an exciting new industry specialising in the manufacture of world class iron ore railcars,” said Dawson.
“Our resources sector relies heavily on railcars, and it makes perfect sense to invest in developing a local industry that will manufacture, test and conduct research on delivering a state-of-the-art iron ore railcar.”
The LMIF is part of the State Government’s 2021 election commitment to support local companies to develop manufacturing opportunities and create more jobs.
The minister officially opened CORE Innovation Hub’s Rail Collaboration Centre (RCC) last week, which will provide a platform to undertake world class testing, R&D in supporting iron ore railcar manufacturing.
The State Government provided CORE with almost $1 million under the LMIF to help boost the design, manufacture, decarbonation and employment training opportunities in WA with the establishment of the new centre in Karratha and hubs located in Newman and Perth.
The centre, which has been established with strong support from Rio Tinto, fills a strategic gap as an innovative and collaborative platform to assess the development of new rolling stock, infrastructure, technology and ideas.
Gemco Rail was awarded almost $7 million under the LMIF to establish an iron ore railcar manufacturing facility in Karratha to manufacture 100 wagons for Rio Tinto as well as repairing and refurbishing key wagon componentry.
The Karratha facility will enable the WA-based company to undertake both the manufacture of iron ore railcar wagons and the refurbishment of rail bearings for Pilbara-based miners.
Since it was established in 2021, the LMIF has awarded more than $13.5 million to several Western Australian companies.