02/03/2026
FINANCIAL REVIEW ARTICLE - Paul Karp 3/03/2026
Sydney will get up to 8500 new harbourside homes after the NSW Labor government announced it would move bulk port operations off Glebe Island to make way for a major new housing development.
The precinct two kilometres west of the CBD will include the new Bays West metro station, along with 7000 to 8500 homes – at least 10 per cent of which will be reserved for affordable and essential worker housing – and a minimum of 25 per cent open space. The White Bay Power Station will be used as the hub of a creative precinct.
Port operations unloading cement, gypsum and sugar at Glebe Island will cease by 2030 to make way for the new high-density housing precinct to be open in 2032.
The project will include the creation of a new delivery agency to manage construction and long-term leases on the publicly owned port land, with a $270 million transition package to improve road connections and investigate rail freight at Port Kembla.
After concerns from the business community that transformation of the Bays West precinct would end the last working port in Sydney Harbour, the Minns government has decided to consolidate some limited port operations at White Bay.
This includes salt imports; boat maintenance; marine construction; a base for tug boats and emergency services; and a staging area to support events, including the New Year’s Eve fireworks and Vivid.
The cruise terminal at White Bay will stay, while deepwater berths will also be retained to allow access by the navy if required, for example, for evacuations.
The Minns government has been pursuing a suite of urban infill policies, including rezoning areas well-served by public transport and completing the Woollahra train station to support a tripling of density in Sydney’s inner east.
In addition to the metro station, the Bays West precinct will gain a new ferry wharf and be connected to Pyrmont by restoration of the old Glebe Island Bridge.
The Bays West precinct has been slated for redevelopment since the Minns government asked former NSW Treasury secretary Michael Schur to assess its capacity for more houses. Premier Chris Minns foreshadowed it more than a year ago with warnings Sydney’s best housing options may “ruffle feathers”.
The Working Port Coalition warned that moving the port would be an economic mistake, disrupt supply chains and inflate construction costs by bringing building materials by road to Sydney from Port Kembla.
Minns said that “right above a new metro station and minutes from the CBD, we’re delivering thousands of homes where people actually need them – close to work, close to services and close to transport”.
“We understand that not everyone will welcome change, but cities don’t stand still. If Sydney is going to remain a place young people and families can afford to live in, we have to use well-located land better and plan for the future.”
