Major logistics companies Logos and Mainfreight are pairing up for a substanital warehouse project at Moorebank Logistics Park in Sydney’s south-west.

Work on the pair’s facility, which will cover 55,800sq m, has begun and is due for completion in the second quarter of 2023.

At 243 ha, Moorebank Logistics Park is Australia’s largest logistics warehousing and infrastructure project and has the ability to provide up to 850,000sq m of warehousing space.

It also connects to Port Botany, making it easier for sea freight to be integrated into an interstate distribution network by shifting specific port operations.

Moorebank has connections to inland road and rail networks and will have the capacity to help transport up to 1.5 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) per year.

Logos Australia and New Zealand head Darren Searle said that the partnership would help tackle supply chain issues by focusing more on sea freight.

“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 pandemic,” Searle said.

“We have the unique opportunity at MLP to significantly reduce freight vehicle movements across Sydney and the broader interstate road network by reducing the number of trucks on the roads and increasing reliance on sea freight.”

▲ Logos and Mainfreight have formed a partnership to develop a warehouse project at the Moorebank Logistics Park in southwest Sydney.

Mainfreight will lease the cross-deck warehouse facility for 15 years and is the first tenant to commit after Logos and its consortium partners bought the site in December, 2021.

Logos and those consortium partners, Australian Super, AXA Investment Managers, Tcorp (NSW Treasury Corporation) and Ivanhoe Cambridge, bought the site in the south-eastern corner of the Moorebank Logistics Park for $1.67 billion.

Prior-to-acquisition tenants include Qube Logistics, Woolworths and Caesarstone.

Mainfreight’s new facility will have warehouses and offices with sustainability measures including rainwater harvesting, recycling, waste management systems and solar power. The solar system is estimated to generate 6 million kWh upon completion.

Mainfreight will also aim for a five star Green Star rating on the project.

Searle said sustainable design was key.

“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,” he said.

Logos is also building a warehouse next to the Mainfreight project with an additional 56,100sq m of space that will be available to lease as either a sole or split tenancies from June 2023.