GrainCorp announced it had secured the relevant development approval to proceed with the 8.1 million dollars upgrade of its grain receival and train loading facility at Cunningar in southern New South Wales. The multi-million-dollar upgrade was previously announced in December 2015 as part of the Australian Government’s National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF) and is expected to commence in February 2017. The project is expected to provide 80% improvement in rail train loading times, 24-hour turnaround time to port, 4,000 truck movements per year removed from local roads, increased competitiveness for local grain, upgraded rail loading facilities and site rail infrastructure.

GrainCorp’s General Manager of Storage & Logistics Nigel Lotz welcomed the news: “This is a major milestone in this project that will allow work to commence on time to ensure we deliver the benefits to the growers and wider region in time for next harvest. Over the past 12 months we have been carefully planning the project to maximize the efficiency of these upgrades while minimizing disruption to the local community. I am delighted our plans have been fully approved. This is a community-led project with support from local grain growers and Hilltops Council that will deliver widespread benefits,” Mr Lotz said.