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Asia-Pacific logistics group LOGOS has secured the first lease agreement for Moorebank Logistics Park (MLP) since its $1.67 billion acquisition of the sprawling industrial estate last year with listed New Zealand transport group Mainfreight (NZE: MFT) signing up for one of two warehouse facilities currently under construction.
Mainfreight has signed a 15-year lease on the 55,800sqm cross-dock warehouse facility at MLP in a purpose-built project located at the south-east corner of the 243-hectare estate.
It is one of two buildings under construction by LOGOS, which acquired MLP in partnership with AustralianSuper, AXA IM Alts, Ivanhoé Cambridge and NSW Treasury Corporation in a deal that settled in December last year.
The second building is a speculative project, comprising 56,100sqm, which is simultaneously under construction adjacent to the Mainfreight property.
Mainfreight currently has a Sydney freight depot at Prestons in the city’s west close to the new Moorebank facility and is expected to relocate once the MLP premises is completed in the second quarter of next year.
Mainfreight property manager Martin Wierzbicki says the Moorebank location provides significant advantages for the logistics company which provides air and sea freight services through a global network of 305 branches in 25 countries.
“The connectivity, efficiency and intermodal capability provided by MLP is unmatched and we look forward to benefiting from the significant cost-advantages associated with improvements to supply chain predictability and rail-to-port connectivity,” he says.
The new Mainfreight facility will sit alongside some of MLP’s existing major tenants such as Woolworths, Caeserston and former site owner Qube Logistics (ASX: QUB). Qube still has an interest in the estate through its ownership of the IMEX Rail Terminal and majority ownership of the future interstate rail terminal.
The Mainfreight warehouse will feature a minimum of a 5 Star Green Star design and will incorporate sustainability initiatives such as rainwater harvesting to drinkable standards, recycling and waste management systems, as well as a 4,530kWp solar electric system that will generate about 6 million kWh of electricity a year.
“In Mainfreight we’ve found a like-minded partner that shares our commitment to supply chain stability, site design and operational efficiencies, and leading sustainable practices and outcomes,” says LOGOS head of Australia and New Zealand Darren Searle.
“This partnership will enable Mainfreight to leverage the unique value provided by MLP, including its connectivity to key freight corridors and import-export trade routes to support their global network of supply chain logistics solutions.
“This longer-term commitment from a global market-leader like Mainfreight reflects the ongoing and rising demand for high-quality warehouse space and logistics facilities, as supply chain operators look to diversify their bases in response to distribution challenges and structural trends accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Searle says MLP creates opportunities to ‘significantly reduce freight vehicle movements across Sydney and the broader interstate road network’ by increasing reliance on sea freight.
“Once MLP is fully developed, this will translate to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by up to 110,000 tonnes of CO2 per year – the equivalent of taking more than 25,000 cars off the roads every year.”
MLP is Australia’s largest logistics warehousing and infrastructure project that will ultimately comprise up to 850,000sqm of warehouse floor area. The estate is directly adjacent to Australia’s largest rail intermodal facilities with direct access to Port Botany.
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