WELLINGTON: Coda Group, the Port of Tauranga/Kotahi joint venture, officially opened its Auckland intermodal freight hub expansion on Friday. It is expected to be the first of several Coda hubs across New Zealand, said chief executive Scott Brownlee. Based on cargo volumes, the Savill Drive, Otahuhu, facility will be one of the largest fully intermodal freight hubs in New Zealand, providing a consolidation point to bring together export, import and domestic cargo flows into a single location. More than 300, 20-foot equivalent container-loads of goods will flow through the hub each day. (See factbox)
“Infrastructure investment and rail connectivity were key milestones required to increase the capacity and services of the freight hub and the existing Coda rail offering between Auckland and Palmerston North,” Mr Brownlee said. “We now provide further opportunities for lower North Island exporters to access the two main ports in the North Island.
The hub is an efficient supply chain ecosystem that will continue to remove waste from the North Island’s freight network.” Mr Brownlee told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend that the key message was not just about unlocking the lower North Island in terms of exports and domestic flows. “This is a model that we are looking to roll out into some key strategic locations around New Zealand,” he said. Longer-term, the Auckland hub was being positioned as part of a broader network. Additional hubs could eventually be added in Palmerston North and Hamilton, as well as Rolleston, near Christchurch.
