LONDON: Tainui Group Holdings, the property arm of Waikato-Tainui, says work should begin within a year on its huge Ruakura inland port after getting three key resource consents from the Hamilton City Council. The iwi plans to build a huge logistics and lifestyle hub on land near the old Ruakura science centre, which it says will mean less congestion in the central and upper North Island.
TGH chief executive Chris Joblin said the decision allowed work to start on the first 13.5 hectares of the inland port and the surrounding 34.5ha logistics area. The size of Waikato Tainui’s planned 500ha inland port and commercial hub superimposed on Auckland’s CBD and waterfront. The size of Waikato Tainui’s planned 500ha inland port and commercial hub superimposed on Auckland’s CBD and waterfront.
“We have always approached Ruakura as part of a bigger picture – a new development larger than the Auckland CBD, bringing fresh life and jobs to east Hamilton, and as a key hub in the upper North Island freight system,” Joblin said. The entire 480ha site will also feature the equivalent of more than 52 rugby fields of open space, a light commercial knowledge zone and residential housing.
Joblin said a number of years spent master planning and talking to customers and the community had paid off with good connections, such as a dedicated interchange with the new Waikato Expressway.
It has already received a number of expressions of interest about hubbing through Ruakura from importers, exporters and logistics players, although it was yet to begin marketing. Joblin said Ruakura’s advantage was that people clearly wanted a neutral port, as road and rail connections were configured to the north and east of Hamilton.
“The consistent message from importers and exporters is that they want the freedom to choose between ports and shipping lines, and not necessarily be tied into Auckland or Tauranga,” Joblin said.
“The efficient hubbing of freight will get thousands of trucks off the roads each year and make better use of the Government’s investment in rail.” TGH said it would call for port operators in the second quarter of this year. They would be managing a port which would eventually be capable of handling up to 1 million twenty foot equivalent (TEU) containers per year.
William Durning, chief executive of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce, said the Ruakura development would turbo-charge the contribution of the wider Waikato region to the New Zealand economy.
“The Waikato region has a number of strong sectors poised to deliver more economic activity and jobs over the next 30 years. “As a cornerstone development, Ruakura will help unleash this. Ruakura stands to benefit not just our towns, city and our region, but also the overall New Zealand Inc story for decades to come.”
