Development is going into overdrive at Muchea Industrial Park (MIP), with demand for large lots soaring at the strategically located estate as businesses leverage the opportunity to lay foundations for future growth.

A spate of recent transactions, collectively worth $42 million, has taken the amount of land purchased at the MIP to more than 22.6-hectares, (226,000 square metres) in just three years, vaulting the estate to the lofty title of Perth’s most active new industrial precinct.

Located on the northern outskirts of Perth at the intersection of Brand Highway, Great Northern Highway and Tonkin Highway, the park is fast becoming one of the state’s biggest and most economically important industrial precincts.

The MIP was launched in 2019 by Perth-based real estate asset manager and finance house Harvis, in a partnership with global investment manager Goldman Sachs.

Civil earthworks contractor Ricciardo Earthmoving is among the new entrants to the estate, after acquiring a 3.37-hectare (33,692sqm) lot.

Mining and construction equipment supplier International Earthmoving Equipment Solutions (IEES) will bolster its operations through their late 2022 settlement of a 2.43-hectare (24,250sqm) plot, while Iron Mine Contracting is set to acquire a 2-hectare (20,000sqm) site to expand its civil mining services operations.

Harvis Managing Director Kelvin Flynn said those new entrants had identified Muchea largely because it will allow them to service Over Size Over Mass (OSOM) vehicles without having to navigate congested road networks throughout the Perth metropolitan area.

Statewide Oil, a supplier of oil and other lubrications products and services, is also set to acquire a 2.01- hectare (20,100sqm) site at Muchea to establish a supply base to service the North West of the state.

Mr Flynn said demand was higher than it had ever been at the MIP, with businesses with a regional logistics component to their operations particularly focused on the estate.

“Demand has been predominantly driven by privately owned and operated businesses buying the land to underpin their expansions,” Mr Flynn said.

“It’s less about buying for investment, it’s more about saving money for the business operationally by leveraging the lowest cost staging point to distribute freight and services to the regions.”

Mr Flynn said businesses were clamouring for prime lots in the estate with highway exposure and/or direct High Wide Load road connectivity to the north prior to the completion of ongoing upgrades to the Great Northern Highway that will enable access for triple road trains.

The $275 million Bindoon Bypass is on track for completion in late 2026.

Mr Flynn said industrial users that had signed on at the MIP were thriving, with the park currently in its third stage of development since the release of first lots in 2020.

He said the MIP’s strategic location provided an optimal opportunity for logistics and distribution, processing, and manufacturing, while recent developments have it emerging as the state’s premier mining equipment services and maintenance hub.

As the northern gateway for freight moving from Perth to mining, oil and gas and agricultural regions, the MIP enables companies to bypass heavily congested industrial estates closer to the city, providing unprecedented access to the Mid West and the Pilbara.

Early adopters include BP, which constructed WA’s largest regional truck stop and fuel centre in 2020, and IOR Petroleum, which operates a network of diesel stops designed for heavy vehicles across Australia.

Other significant players at the MIP include Lester Group, which has leased an 1,800sqm custom built distribution warehouse to Elders Rural and has recently commenced works on a truck refuelling facility for ReFuel Australia which will be in operation later this year.

Lester Group has also proposed to build a commercial service centre to enhance the broader amenity at the MIP, pending planning approval.

“Collectively, these businesses’ have continued to benefit from the regional accessibility and scale MIP affords them.

“Those incoming businesses with new bespoke facilities in various states of design and construction are also well placed to sustain their already impressive growth trajectories,” Mr Flynn said.

“All of our buyers are established and successful businesses, with various operations around central and northern Perth.

“The move to Muchea allows them to expand their operational footprint at a scale that is commensurate with the size of the business they are doing around the state.”

The sales and leasing of Muchea Industrial Estate is managed by Matt Lyford and David Mills of Industrial & General together with Sam Wilson and Daniel Chatley of Harvis.

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