The terminal includes eight silos, each with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes, and nine others capable of holding 2000 tonnes.

The terminal is expected to open in November and 10 people will be involved in its day-to-day operations, Quattro’s Port Kembla terminal manager Dene Ladmore said.

‘‘Hopefully [we’ll have] some local subcontractors for different parts of the operating functions as well – it could be maintenance, or cleaning,’’ Mr Ladmore said.

‘‘In the construction itself, it employed between 80 and 100 contractors as well. The last 11 months [of the project] have been good for the region in terms of construction jobs.’’

The terminal will receive grain by road or rail and then store it until a ship enters the port to pick it up.

As part of the project the existing berth will be deepened to 14.5 metres to allow it to accommodate large bulk carriers.

Mr Ladmore said Port Kembla was chosen for its location – both in terms of the delivery of grain and the ease of export. 

‘The supply chain makes sense for rail down from the farming centres in NSW down to Port Kembla,’’ Mr Ladmore said.

‘‘In Newcastle there’s another agri-terminal that’s been built in the last 18 months so it wasn’t a first choice.’’

The business will be competing for the same business with the port’s other grain terminal, owned by Graincorp.

While there may be some room for expansion down the line, Mr Ladmore said the facility’s key focus would be on grain.

‘‘There is an opportunity to look at importing some bulk commodities, some agri-commodities like fertiliser,’’ he said.

‘‘But that’s not a focus of the facility. The facility is focused on exporting grain, and predominantly wheat, barley and canola.’’