Hard Infrastructure

Bundaberg City possesses numerous infrastructure and transport based assets from which industry benefits.

Road

Bundaberg is four hours north of Brisbane, the State's capital. Bundaberg is accessed from Queensland's major coastal vehicle route, the Bruce Highway, north from Gin Gin and south from Childers. Several bus companies service Bundaberg, with regular services to Brisbane and other parts of the state.

The City road network connects nearby localities to the city's services. These localities include Elliott Heads, Bargara, Burnett Heads, Moore Park, Gin Gin, and Childers.

A $42 million ring road is being constructed by the State Government around the southern outskirts of the City and will link up to the Bundaberg Port, which will provide greater transport opportunities for the Port and for the City.

Rail

Bundaberg is located on the main North Coast Railway between Brisbane and Cairns.

The revolutionary Tilt Train, which can travel at speeds up to 160km/hr, provides a number of services per day between Bundaberg and Brisbane. Travel time is a leisurely four hours. The Tilt Train provides both business and economy class travel.

Other rail passenger services are operated between Brisbane, Rockhampton and Cairns through the central Bundaberg Railway Station.

Queensland Rail also operates its general freight service (Qlink) which provides door-to-door service by utilising rail and road transport with a depot located in Bundaberg. Container transfer facilities are located at this depot.

The railway corridor lies approximately two kilometres to the east of the Bunda Industrial Estate. It is electrified and is capable of daily freight services carrying 1,500 tonnes when at capacity. A future railway spur line could connect this line with the array of industrial activities in the immediate locality and provide an intermodal transfer point.

Air

The Bundaberg Airport is located on the south west outskirts of the City, adjacent to the Isis Highway. Bundaberg City's airport terminal caters for intrastate scheduled public passenger transport services for the City and the immediate regional area. Services run frequently throughout the day. Flight time to Brisbane is approximately 40 minutes.

The Airport has two runways with the main runway 1533 metres in length and a pavement strength rating of C (low strength) and the other 1128 metres in length. There is the option to further develop this facility to aid the development of aviation related industry and dedicated airfreight services.

The Bundaberg City Council is currently undertaking an Airport Masterplan to assess the options and feasibility of a future expansion of the facility to cater for jet or additional Dash-8 services to the City.

Bundaberg Port

This Port is administered by the Bundaberg Port Authority. Bundaberg is a first port of call for customs and quarantine clearing of small craft being ideally situated on the eastern sea board and with easy access from the Pacific Islands.

• Location & Statistics
  19.3 km downstream from Bundaberg City
  4.8 km from the mouth of the Burnett River
  Entrance channel 8km in length, 103m in width with a minimum 9.5m navigable depth (LAT) and leads into a swing basin 1165m in length and 320 m in width.
• Wharves
  The Sir Thomas Hiley Wharf is utilised for shipment of sugar, being 191m in length with 10.0m berth depth. The new approach wharf for general cargo users provides access to the Sir Thomas Hiley Wharf for laden semi and B-double vehicles and forklifts. John T. Fisher Wharf provides bulk loading points for molasses and petroleum products and is 240m in length including dolphins with a 9.7m berth depth. Queensland Tug and Salvage Pty Ltd, located downstream of the wharves, owns and operates the tug service in the Port, providing berthing facilities for pilot launches and the lines running contractors craft.
• Sugar Terminal Buildings
  A storage capacity of 330,000 tonnes of bulk raw sugar is provided in the longest single sugar storage built to date, standing at 425m in length. The associated conveyor belt system has a loading capacity of 1400 tonnes per hour.
• Bulk Molasses Terminal
  This terminal comprises of three storage tanks with a total capacity of 36,641 tonnes and a loading rate of 285 tonnes per hour facilitated by a 375mm pipeline connected to five electrically operated pumps.
• Regional Stevedoring
  Regional servicing capabilities together with future expansion plans at the Port ensure that industry can be confident that their cargo shipping needs can be met, regardless of their location - be it at the Port, the City or elsewhere in the Region.

Marinas

Bundaberg is served by several marinas on the Burnett River.

Burnett Heads Marina, located in the Crown Boat Harbour, offers boat repairs, 50 tonne slipway and on-water refuelling.

The Bundaberg Port Marina provides 130 floating berths, 70 tonne travel lift, hardstand and repair facilities, licensed restaurant and marine electronic repairs.

Midtown Marinas, located in the centre of Bundaberg, offers 80 marine berths, 50 moorings, 5 fit-out berths and on water refuelling.

A ship's chandlery is available at each Marina.

Utility Services

Abundant and reliable supplies of electricity and gas provide industry with the confidence to grow and expand in the region.

A crucial component of Bundaberg's success in the sugar cane and horticultural industries has been the supply of clean raw water from a variety of sources including the Fred Haigh Dam, Ben Anderson Barrage and bores, utilising an extensive irrigation network for distribution across 52,4000 hectares of farmland and communities located in Burnett, Kolan and Isis Shires. These sources guarantee good quality water resulting in industry best standard produce all year round. This region has captured the attention of many people with its groundbreaking use of the latest technology in plastic film and trickle irrigation. Most recently monitoring equipment such as tensiometers and neutron probes have been utilised as an integral part of water efficiency and maximisation of crop production and quality. All three major industrial estates are provided with reticulated water and presently non-serviced greenfield sites within the City have been incorporated into forward planning processes to ensure adequate infrastructure provision in the future.

Burnett River Dam

In 2001, Burnett Water undertook an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Supplementary EIS that satisfied both State and Federal Government Legislation for the establishment of the Burnett River Dam. Since then, approvals to proceed with the Dam have been granted by the Coordinator General and the Commonwealth Minister for Environment and Heritage. The Burnett Dam is currently under construction and will bring additional water supplies to the region, supportuning industries such as vegetables, citrus, sugar, fruit and nuts, pork, dairy and feedlots as well as manufacturing. The dam and associated weirs are expected to yield around 170,000ML per year and will service the area's agricultural, urban and industrial users.

Communications

In addition to national media, Bundaberg also has its own newspapers and local radio broadcasters -The Bundaberg News Mail, as well as the Guardian, Coastline, Bugle, and the Evening Star newspapers, 4BU, 93.9 FM and SEAFM and community radio stations.

Regional and broadband data and telecommunications networks exist throughout the Wide Bay. Dial-up, Cable, ADSL and satellite data access is available in the Region. Numerous Internet service providers are operating and include Ozemail, Telstra Bigpond, TPG and Interworx to name a few.