Northport can cope
Northport - Northland’s deep-water commercial port situated at Marsden Point near Whangarei - want further talks on why the port was overlooked as a solution to the growth constraints currently facing the Port of Auckland.
The Auckland Council development committee has referred its Port Future Study, which recommended a new location was likely needed for the Port of Auckland, to the new incoming council elected in October.
The study found neither Northport or the Port of Tauranga would be able to handle Auckland’s extra trade.
It noted the loss of revenue to the council should trade be diverted elsewhere. It also found for building extra berth space in the interim, despite public opposition to this factor.
Northport’s chairman Sir John Goulter says the report took an overly narrow focus and contained errors that led the working group to eliminate the Whangarei port and the Port of Tauranga as solutions to Auckland’s commercial and infrastructural problems.
He says the study did not examine in any detail, options to ‘unbundle’ the port’s total freight task. Instead, Northport and Port of Tauranga were assessed on whether they could, independently or in partnership, assume Auckland’s total freight task.
‘‘That was never going to be a realistic option because Auckland will, in all likelihood, always require a port facility,’’ Goulter says.
’’But there are opportunities for the load to be shared across the Upper North Island and these have not yet been explored fully.’’
The report overlooked the expanding capacity at Northport over the next decade.
In addition to this, container handling ability was being developed and it already has significant, consented expansion plans which include increasing its 570 metre long berth and its 50 hectares hard stand area.
Longer term plans provide for a total footprint of 70 hectares and 1.4 kilometres of berthage.
The company has informed the ADC of it views and want interim discussions before the study is referred to the incoming council.
Goulter says Northport remained both willing and able to provide solutions to the ‘‘increasingly acute’’ challenges the POA faced.