The proposal, from Taiwanese company Simosa Oil, would have the plant operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to serve the needs of road construction in the surrounding regions.

Simosa Oil proposes to export 100,000 tonnes of bitumen annually from its Taiwan plants to Port Kembla. The bitumen would then be transferred via an electrically heated pipeline to two bulk liquid storage tanks, and dispatched to construction sites by road.

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"Due to the growing demand for bitumen in the southern region, there is a need for a local supply source," Simosa's application says.

"The project would contribute to meeting this demand. This will reduce the requirement for transport of the bitumen across large areas, therefore reducing truck journey lengths, associated costs as well as the environmental impact of transporting the bitumen.

"Currently, bitumen is transported primarily from Sydney to Wollongong for projects in the region. This creates congestion on the roads and greater chance of high impact crashes with heavy vehicles."

Ships would dock at Berth 206, at the end of a jetty extanding from the Port Kembla outer harbour boat ramp. A heated pipeline would deliver the bitumen to large tanks in the plant onshore, on Foreshore Rd opposite Morgan Cement's factory.

Simosa's plans were approved as complying development (CDC) previously but a change to planning laws means development within the ports of Port Kembla, Botany and Newcastle cannot use the easier CDC route and will be considered as State Significant Development.

A hazard and risk analysis and an environmental impact statement will need to be prepared for public consultation.

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