WELLINGTON: Ports of Auckland is opening a freight hub in Mount Maunganui, the backyard of its rival, Port of Tauranga. The Auckland port company said it wanted to provide choice to Bay of Plenty exporters and improved access to overseas markets.
“Competition is a good thing. Our Bay of Plenty freight hub will help make New Zealand exporters more competitive on the world stage by making their access to global markets more efficient and easy,” Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson. Port of Tauranga is due to report its financial results on Thursday.
Ports of Auckland has two other “intermodal” or inland freight hubs, at Wiri in South Auckland, and Longburn in the Manawatu.
The two ports are generally seen as competitors, with Auckland being the biggest for container volumes, and Tauranga hogging much of Fonterra’s business, as well as having tie-ups with shipping company Maersk and Timaru’s Prime Port. The Tauranga port is also dredging to become “big ship-capable” so it can host the new generation of large freight ships.
Gibson said a third inland hub is part of its strategy to develop a network across the North Island, reducing costs. “It also enables us to reduce excessive empty container movements and better balance the volume of exported goods with imported goods through our port.”
