Westport: Shaping the wake of progress

Charting a course for Western Australia’s next century of growth

At a glance:

Future-ready container freight design for a new world-class port in Kwinana.
Digitally modelled for resilience, growth, and climate adaptation.
Sustainability-led approach with circular economy and low-emissions design.
Critical trade infrastructure safeguarding WA’s competitiveness in global markets.

Westport is Western Australia’s long-term program to plan, design and deliver new container port facilities and a connected supply chain network to meet the State’s growing trade needs. For a port project of this scale, success starts well before construction - with rigorous planning and early investigations guiding the infrastructure design. Since 2022, WSP has been delivering front-end planning, advisory solutions, and more recently, marine geotechnical investigations to help propel Westport’s vision to life.

Laying the groundwork for WA’s economic transformation

Before a single pile is driven or a quay wall built, a team of engineers and marine specialists is out on the water, gathering the data that will shape Western Australia’s next major gateway to the world.

Nick Abraham of Warrang-Bridil hosts a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony to commemorate the start of the geotechnical work.
(Image credit: Westport)

The marine geotechnical investigations commenced in July 2025 in Cockburn Sound, and are an essential step in planning Westport. Supported by an integrated shore-based design and management team working side by side with the client, WSP assembled a dedicated group of around 30 specialists. With 95% of the project team based in Western Australia, harnessing local expertise is also helping strengthen the state’s focus to build and retain a sustainable workforce.

Two jack-up barges are collecting data about the sub-sea conditions in the areas where development is proposed. Crews have been drilling below the seabed to collect soil and rock samples across the proposed port footprint in Cockburn Sound and shipping channel to the north.

These findings will directly inform the design of marine infrastructure that must stand strong for generations. The investigations are scheduled to occur from mid-2025 through to mid-2026.

Out there on the water, you really feel the scale of what we’re building. Every core sample we take is a piece of the puzzle that will help shape a port capable of supporting an entire state.

Erik Brouwer WSP Principal Project Manager

Erik Brouwer WSP Principal Project Manager

Location

Western Australia, Australia

Client

Government of Western Australia

This work isn’t just technical—it’s strategic. The Westport Business Case published in 2024 found that that without action, WA could face up to $244 billion in lost economic activity over the coming decades. That’s not just numbers, it’s the cost of inaction: higher costs for households, reduced competitiveness for businesses, and missed opportunities for trade growth and job creation.

Image credit: Westport

Anchoring the vision: WSP’s role in navigating Westport’s future

Since 2022, WSP has been working with Westport and their stakeholders to achieve an integrated supply chain with a strong commercial outcome for the State and private-sector operators.

WSP has put together a multidisciplinary team across maritime, major projects, advisory, rail, roads, civil, bridges, geotechnical, planning & approvals and stakeholder engagement.

We have also brought together a consortia of industry leaders with the required capability and experience to help Westport achieve an integrated supply chain with strong commercial outcomes for the state and private-sector operators.

Through the application of environment-led design and Working with Nature initiatives, we've helped WA achieve ambitions for nature positive and sustainable project outcomes.

Our work to date includes: 

Shortlisting 30 port layouts to a single preferred option using a structured three-stage MCA process. 
Holding 100+ stakeholder meetings to inform planning and design. 
Identifying and selecting three Intermodal Terminal (IMT) sites to boost rail mode share. 
Developing an integrated economic modelling suite to assess container movement costs. 
Delivering preliminary designs for marine, terminal, road, rail, and IMT infrastructure. 
Undertaking geotechnical investigations to inform detailed design.

As the lead consultant, collaboration with Westport, our supporting partners, and project stakeholders, has been a key part of the success of the work undertaken to date. This has enabled continued alignment on priorities and outcomes for the project.

Critical port infrastructure like Westport isn't just about moving freight, it's about building resilient, sustainable and optimised supply chains to serve Western Australia for generations to come.

Simon Blake Maritime Executive

Simon Blake Maritime Executive

Westport is about more than freight. It’s about building the infrastructure that will support a stronger, more resilient Western Australia, both today and into the future.