Port Darwin

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Port of Darwin, Australia

title: "Port Darwin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["port-darwin", "darwin,-northern-territory", "ports-and-harbours-of-the-northern-territory", "ports-and-harbours-of-the-indian-ocean", "timor-sea", "transport-in-the-northern-territory", "australia–china-relations"] description: "Port of Darwin, Australia" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Darwin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Port of Darwin, Australia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox port"]

FieldValue
namePort Darwin
imageDarwins East Arm Port August 2007 (4424985900).jpg
image_captionEast Arm Port facilities
pushpin_mapAustralia
countryAustralia
locationDarwin, Northern Territory
coordinates
operatedDarwin Port Operations
typeCoastal natural
berths5
wharfs4
websitehttps://www.darwinport.com.au/
::

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Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, and is the most northerly port in Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay, and East Arm Wharf.

Since 2015, the port has been controlled by the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group, having been granted a 99-year lease by the federal and territory governments. The transaction has since ignited significant national security concerns and political controversy, with considerable bipartisan appetite to return the port to Australian ownership.

Locations

Stokes Hill Wharf operated as the main location of Port Darwin, and has had three wharves.

East Arm Wharf opened in 2000. Panamax sized ships of a maximum length of 274 metres and a DWT of up to 80,000 tonnes are able to use the location.

Privatisation

Following the 2012 election of the Country Liberal party, the Territory sought to raise funds for unspecified purposes through the sale of public assets, including the Territory Insurance Office and Darwin Port. In order to accomplish the latter, the Territory made a request for expressions of interest in late 2014 and early 2015, resulting in thirty-three companies signalling their interest.

In October 2015, the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group won the bid for a lease of Port Darwin. The then Country Liberal-controlled Northern Territory Government under then Chief Minister Adam Giles granted the company a 99-year lease for $506 million. The contract price was more than 25 times the profit the port had earned over the preceding two years, and Landbridge also promised to invest $200 million over a 25-year period. Shandong Landbridge Group is a privately held company with headquarters in the city of Rizhao, Shandong Province, China, which is owned by Ye Cheng, a billionaire with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The details of the unsuccessful bids were not disclosed, with the government citing commercial-in-confidence reasons, but sources conflicted over the nature of these bids. Some sources stated that the bid from the Landbridge Group was the highest by a significant margin, while others stated that two bids, one from a European company and another from an Australian company, were comparable. It was hoped that Landbridge's bid would result in new trade routes opening up for the Territory's cattle, mining, and gas industries.

Security concerns

Concerns have been expressed over this leasing arrangement due its strategic significance as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Concerns have also been expressed over the proximity of the port to a base where United States Marines are stationed on a rotational basis and to the Darwin International Airport, which is used jointly for military and civilian purposes.

In June 2019, development of a port at Glyde Point, 40 km north of Port Darwin, to be utilised by both military and commercial interests, was suggested as a 'counterbalance' by Federal Liberal Party MP and chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Andrew Hastie.

In August 2019, a proposal was launched by Federal Labor MP Nick Champion to re-nationalise the port, thereby ending Chinese control.

A 2021 review of the leasing arrangements found there were no national security grounds to overturn the lease. In October 2023, the federal government announced it would not cancel Landbridge's lease after another review. The announcement brought to an end to an eight-year saga regarding Chinese control of the port.

During the May 2025 Australian federal election campaign, both the Coalition and the Australian Labor Party pledged to return the port to Australian ownership if elected. The PRC's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, criticised the plan. Landbridge applauded the ambassador's comments. In late January 2026, Chinese ambassador Xioa Qian reiterated warnings to the Albanese government that plans to nationalise the port would adversely affect trade and diplomatic relations with China.

References

References

  1. (4 April 2025). "Australia Seeks Port of Darwin Buy-Back From Chinese Firm, PM Says".
  2. [http://www.darwinport.nt.gov.au/port-trade-development/east-arm-wharf Darwin Port Corporation > East Arm Wharf] {{webarchive. link. (15 October 2015 . Darwinport.nt.gov.au.)
  3. (2015-12-16). "NT government assets privatised without knowing where proceeds will go".
  4. (2019-03-11). "'A seriously dumb idea': Why did the NT lease Darwin's port to China?".
  5. (2025-04-04). "Labor and Coalition pledge to return Port of Darwin to Australian hands". [[ABC News (Australia).
  6. (13 October 2015). "Landbridge to operate Darwin port under $506m 99-year lease deal". ABC News.
  7. (30 October 2016). "Robb joins Chinese company with control of Darwin Port". [[ABC News (Australia).
  8. Chan, Gabrielle Chan. (6 June 2017). "Coalition defends Andrew Robb after revelation he started job while an MP". The Guardian.
  9. Tanaka, Yasuto. (2019-02-02). "Concerns Raised As Australian Port Rolls Out Red Carpet for Chinese Investment".
  10. (2015-11-22). "China's 'invisible billionaire' – the Port of Darwin's new owner".
  11. (2017-06-05). "ASIO warned politicians about taking cash from Huang Xiangmo, Chau Chak Wing".
  12. Gibson, Jano. (7 May 2022). "Why did the Northern Territory lease Darwin Port to Chinese-owned company Landbridge?". [[ABC News (Australia).
  13. Uhlmann, Chris. (15 October 2015). "Senior Defence official raises security concerns over Darwin port lease to Chinese-owned company Landbridge". [[ABC News (Australia).
  14. (6 December 2017). "Andrew Robb's secret China contract: money for nothing".
  15. Garrick, John. (December 6, 2018). "Darwin port's sale is a blueprint for China's future economic expansion".
  16. (2019-03-19). "Can the Darwin Port's 99-year lease to China be reversed?".
  17. (2016-12-17). "How the sale of Darwin port to the Chinese sparked a geopolitical brawl". The Guardian.
  18. Gibson, Jano. (2019-06-24). "New Darwin port would 'counterbalance' 99-year Chinese company lease: Liberal MP".
  19. (4 August 2019). "Push for Darwin Port to be nationalised to end Chinese ownership of strategic northern asset". ABC News.
  20. Dziedzic, Stephen. (20 October 2023). "Federal government will not cancel Chinese company Landbridge's Port of Darwin lease". [[ABC News (Australia).
  21. Xiao, Alison. (2025-04-04). "Coalition and Labor pledge to retake control of Chinese-controlled Port of Darwin". ABC News.
  22. Belot, Henry. (2025-04-05). "Port of Darwin operator says Albanese and Dutton are treating it like 'a political football' in election". [[The Guardian]].
  23. Needham, Kirsty. (May 26, 2025). "Chinese ambassador criticises plan to return Darwin Port to Australian ownership". [[Reuters]].
  24. (28 January 2026). "China’s ambassador warns Albanese reclaiming Port of Darwin will force Beijing to intervene". [[The Guardian]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

port-darwindarwin,-northern-territoryports-and-harbours-of-the-northern-territoryports-and-harbours-of-the-indian-oceantimor-seatransport-in-the-northern-territoryaustralia–china-relations