SIDELINING Bell Bay from a future port strategy alienates the North's economic powerhouse, Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten has said.
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The Freight Logistics Co- ordination Team report released this week recommended making Burnie the state's principal container port, and focusing road funding on the Burnie to Hobart freight corridor.
It said Bell Bay should remain focused on bulk freight.
Ald. van Zetten said leaving Bell Bay out of the main strategy made "no sense" and could have dire consequences for the northern economy.
"It makes no sense to put this State's major wealth generating exporters at risk by ignoring the future capacity and connectivity of Bell Bay and its related enterprises," he said.
Alderman van Zetten said Bell Bay carried 58 per cent of the state's manufacturing industry and produced 35 per cent of the state's exports.
"At a time when our regional economy is under pressure, the importance of Bell Bay to Northern Tasmania must be remembered," he said.
"A prosperous North means a prosperous Tasmania, and I believe Bell Bay is a vital cog in our region's wealth-creating potential."
