AFTER 18 hours, State Parliament has passed legislation to enable the sale of Canning Vale’s Market City.
The marathon debate finished at 4.15 this morning and was the final piece of legislation passed in 2015.
The passage will allow the sale of the state’s $100 million asset to go through.
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READ NOWMarket City is WA’s central wholesale and trading distribution hub for fruit and vegetables and is managed and owned by the Perth Market Authority.
It was put up for sale this year to claw back money lost after dwindling iron ore prices and the demise of the mining boom put the State’s finances into the red.
Treasurer Mike Nahan said the sale would deliver greater levels of efficiency and productivity to tenants.
Under the legislation, the wholesale market function had remain for 20 years.
The new owner must continue to operate the central trading area exclusively as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market and deliver additional warehouse storage for market related purposes, as part of any future development plans.
The sale contract includes control measures for electricity pricing and the staged implementation of land tax to minimise the ability for the new owner to pass on costs to tenants.
The Treasurer said the State Government was confident the safeguards provided for in the Bill would facilitate the continued operation and growth of the market function.
In September, the State Government named Australian Capital Equity, DEXUS Funds Management, Propertylink (Holdings), Stockland Trust Management and the WA Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries as bidders in the sale.