Port of Airlie – Coastal Paradise on schedule

by Melanie Roberts / Meridien on 9 Aug 2010 Meridien, one of the country’s leading property developers, has created one of Australia’s most unique coastal destinations. Port of Airlie will be a tropical paradise where fifteen of the best beachfront homes in Australia will mix with 365 designer waterfront apartments, two state-of-the-art hotels, a 289 berth world-class marina, a variety of restaurants and shops, heliport, marine college and Fantasea’s fully integrated cruise and bus terminal.

The unparalleled engineering design of Port of Airlie is that it is totally manmade. The whole development was formed on reclaimed land from below the watermark. Meridien had to import 1.9km of marine grade sheet piles from Belgium to help isolate the site from the ocean and allow excavation of mud and solid material.

This process resulted in the turnover of one million cubic metres of material and therefore allowed Meridien to excavate 21 metres below sea level, storing surplus mud below the flooded marina harbour. This incredible engineering feat enabled Meridien to build on good quality residual material above the high water mark.

The Port of Airlie Marina harbour is complete and fully formed with berth construction underway. Piling works have commenced. The completion of the first marina stage will coincide with the entry channel opening due by the end of this year and the opening of The Boathouse Apartments. The harbour will boast a minimum water depth of three metres at the lowest astronomical tide, with some deeper berthing available.

Last Thursday, cranes were positioned on site at Port of Airlie to lift the 27 tonne Dredging Rig to complete final dredging of the marina. This was the heaviest lift in Port of Airlie’s development history.

This is the last section of dredging to be completed before the remaining sheet piles can be removed. Once these sheet piles are removed the Port of Airlie marina will open out to sea.

'As you can imagine this is a very exciting phase of the development ' said Meridien's Development Director John Warlow, 'Activity on site is ramping up with first stages of marina berth construction nearing completion in line with the opening of The Boathouse Apartments and Retail in the next few months.'

The Boathouse apartment building is due for completion later this year with the display apartment now open. The display will be open to the public and will be accessible by visiting the Port of Airlie Sales Office.

In addition to the near completion of the Boathouse Apartments, house construction is well underway on the exclusive beachfront lots which are taking shape to become some of the best oceanfront homes in the country.

With the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsundays in Port of Airlie’s backyard, it is easy to see why this unique location has proven to be a major attraction to land buyers cruising the eastern seaboard looking for Australia’s most exclusive oceanfront destination.

For more information, please call Melanie Roberts on (07) 3100 0870 or email mroberts@meridien.com.au