Infrastructure Department Secretary Simon Atkinson told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday the new port would be built at Middle Arm in Darwin Harbour.
The government has been in discussion with Defence officials for five months,the hearing was told,and the new port would be open to naval ships as well as private industry for minerals exports and energy exports.
The existing port at Darwin is leased by a Chinese company.
Loading
Mr Atkinson said the government would announce more details in the future and his department was working with Defence “to ensure there will be a multi-user capacity ... and understanding what Defence requirements would be if they wanted to pull ships up alongside the facility”.
The US military’s massive Red Hill facility stores 950 million litre of fuel in underground tanks. Red Hill was closed downearlier this month due to groundwater contamination.
Australian National University professor of defence studies,John Blaxland,said the US would “no doubt” be looking to locations such as Darwin to bolster its fuel storage.