Two 250-tonne transformers were carefully and slowly unloaded onto oversized trucks using the cranes of the heavy-lift vessel Victoria Scan yesterday afternoon at Mayfield No.4 berth.

The equipment was to be taken to Bayswater in the early hours of this morning.

The shipment signalled the commissioning of the refurbished former iron ore berth, the first infrastructure project to be completed at Mayfield, on time and budget, Newcastle Port Corporation said.

It expands the capability of the port to handle a variety of cargo.

Port corporation public affairs officer Keith Powell said the site was ideal for shipments such as yesterday's, which required easy access to main roads.

The 265-metre wharf is part of 90 hectares of corporation-controlled land riverside to about 150 hectares of the steelworks site the Hunter Development Corporation controls.

The berth consists of a 3630 square-metre wharf apron and about 8745 of hardstand, a hard-surfaced area for cargo handling and storage. The project used materials recycled from the old berth, including 4000 tonnes of concrete.

The contractor, BMD Constructions, also used or sold about 240 tonnes of steel reinforcement and steel rail line.

The corporation has developed a concept plan for its strategically located land, which would be divided into precincts: a berth precinct, bulk and general precinct, general purpose, bulk liquid and a container terminal.

The aim is to attract private developments.