BlueScope signs $40m West Dapto lease in land push milestone
Auto logistics firm signs 10-year deal
BlueScope has secured its first named commercial tenant for its West Dapto industrial land.
The steelmaker announced a non-binding commercial heads of agreement with automotive logistics company Prixcar to develop a 10-hectare hardstand car storage facility at West Dapto on an initial 10-year lease term, with the facility to be developed by 2029.
Net value to BlueScope, after lease incentives and costs, is expected to be approximately $40 million, or around $400 per square metre, it said in an ASX release.
That per-square-metre figure is significant. It is the first time BlueScope has put a public lease benchmark on its Illawarra industrial land, giving the market a concrete reference for what the portfolio generates in income - not just in outright sales.
It follows December’s residential land sale at the same suburb. BlueScope exchanged contracts with one of Australia’s largest home builders for 33 hectares of residentially zoned land at West Dapto for $76 million - above recent comparable sales at over $200 per square metre - with the site to accommodate more than 350 residential lots.
Together, the two West Dapto deals - housing and industrial - demonstrate BlueScope’s enthusiasm to converting multiple land uses simultaneously.
Port Kembla: the bigger prize
With rezoning secured in December, BlueScope confirmed that development applications can now be lodged across the 200-hectare Port Kembla Land Transformation Precinct. The site, roughly the size of Sydney’s CBD, has been rezoned to support up to 20,000 jobs on top of the more than 10,000 currently supported by the steelworks.
Planned uses include energy infrastructure, logistics, advanced manufacturing, research and education, and social and cultural infrastructure, with development staged over multiple decades in line with approvals, market demand, and strategic priorities.
Talk has escalated over the past fortnight after the NSW opened expressions of interest for the state’s second major film studio. Earlier this week, Wollongong City councillors unanimously supported a motion from Cr Ann Martin to support a Screen Illawarra bid for the project, the Illawarra Mercury reported.
An exclusivity arrangement has already been entered into with Sicona, a battery technology startup from the University of Wollongong’s iAccelerate incubator, granting it exclusive rights to explore locating its advanced battery materials manufacturing within the precinct.
New CEO, new tempo
Managing director and CEO Tania Archibald said: “We made clear our intention to act and we’re delivering. These are unique assets with scale, zoning and infrastructure access in high demand locations.”
The assertive tone reflects the pressure BlueScope is managing from a sustained takeover campaign. BlueScope has rejected proposals from SGH Limited and Steel Dynamics on the basis that they significantly undervalued the company, with the land portfolio central to that argument.
BlueScope has flagged further property milestones during FY2027 as the accelerated value delivery program continues across the portfolio.
Who is PrixCar?
A finished vehicle automotive logistics specialist with nearly 40 years experience in delivering vehicle transport, processing, storage and fleet services.
It offers vehicle transport across Australia, and has more than 30 depots across Australia, including Canberra, all the state and territory capitals plus almost 20 regionals centres.
PrixCar Services is owned by K Line Auto Logistics Pty Ltd. The shares of PrixCar are divided between K Line Australia Pty Ltd and QUBE Logistics Holdings Ltd.
The Pulse Illawarra is focused on quality over quantity, providing in-depth analysis of the Illawarra’s growth phase - from the decarbonisation of Port Kembla to the commercialisation of UOW’s world-class research and beyond.