Costco to build distribution site in Western Sydney, create hundreds of jobs

Retail giant Costco is set to build its first Australian warehouse distribution headquarters in Western Sydney. The facility will include a 33,588 sqm warehouse and generate up to 1,000 jobs.

The facility will be located at Kemps Creek, near the site of the future Western Sydney Airport. Costco will spend $77 million for the site over the next 12 months.

Patrick Noone, Costo managing director, said that they chose the site because of its proximity to major motorways. He explained that they need a bigger facility to serve the needs of members in Australia as they expand the business. The location is reportedly ideal for its purpose. The 14-hectare facility is situated in the Oakdale South Industrial Estate.

Noone confirmed that the move will create hundreds of jobs for Sydney’s booming west. About 730 construction jobs will be generated from the project, along with additional 210 operational jobs.

The New South Wales government has welcomed the warehouse in Kemps Creek, owned by Goodman Group. Sydney Morning Herald reports Goodman Australia general manager Jason Little as saying that the company has a productive relationship with Costco at Moorabbin Airport in Victoria and at Goodman Commerce Centre Eastvale in California. He added that they welcome Costco to Oakdale in New South Wales.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that the location of these jobs is strategically important for the state. Costco’s new facility is just a stone’s throw away from the future Western Sydney Airport site in Badgerys Creek.

“Costco is the latest major employer to be setting up shop near the future airport site, helping form what will be an Aerotropolis – a fully integrated economic precinct that will deliver jobs and opportunities for the people of Western Sydney and across NSW,” Business Insider Australia reports Berejiklian as saying. The premier said she hopes it would encourage other companies to move their operations west.

Costco will open its 10th store in Australia in 2018. The new distribution centre can supply 30 stores and service the company's new online store.

Last year, Costco opened a 13,575 sqm store in Marsden Park at the Sydney Business Park. It includes a fresh food production, tyre centre, food court, fuel station, optometrist and hearing aid services. The company has also started the construction of a $40 million Epping Costco in conjunction with Pacific Epping Shopping Centre in Melbourne.