Key strategic position boosting Northgate
With Stage 3 of Northgate Business Park nearing completion, it’s clear its strategic positioning just 8km north of central Hamilton and exactly 110km from both the Ports of Auckland and the Port of Tauranga to take advantage of northward growth, is making an impact on the region.
Northgate director Graeme Lee and his team had developed a significant opportunity for the Waikato district, said Waikato District Council’s Economic and Community Development manager Julie Dolan. ‘‘The location and size of the park will attract some medium to large businesses that could be completely new to the district.’’
And the region’s economy is profiting, she said. ‘‘Jobs coming into the region benefit our people tremendously. At council’s Economic and Community Development unit, we prefer to work with employers before they arrive in the district so we can better understand their workforce requirements and we can work with our partners to ensure local people get access to the opportunities.
‘‘Northgate is one of our last significant industrial and commercial zones at this time. Employers will see the attraction of the park through its access to the Hamilton to Auckland corridor, other roads and of course rail.’’
Demand was high for building sites at the industrial park, and its location to all transport nodes was a major factor, Dolan said. ‘‘Access and ease of logistics is key for any businesses and Northgate provides all of that for any new employer. The value comes in the attraction to increase business investment, employ more of our people so that we have liveable, thriving and connected communities.’’
The industrial park also means value to the community at large in terms of jobs, Dolan said.
Ports of Auckland (POA) chose Waikato for its inland freight hub because it made sound business and environmental sense for Waikato businesses to ship through it, said Matt Ball, MG Communications for Ports of Auckland.
‘‘Waikato is the same distance from Auckland and Tauranga ports, but because Auckland is the main import port, we can offer synergies which will reduce cost and businesses’ carbon footprint.
‘‘Most import containers come to Auckland, due to the high population and business density. Once they are unpacked, the empty containers can be repositioned to our Waikato Freight Hub by rail, packed with the Waikato’s best export quality products and returned to Ports of Auckland by rail for export.
‘‘All this can be done for less than half the carbon emissions and kilometres of the current supply chain. We take trucks off the road and at the same time maximise rail and ship utilisation.’’
POA looked at five sites in Waikato, including Ruakura, and Northgate came out ahead ‘‘by a country mile’’, Ball said.
‘‘It was seen as a 100ha site close to the fast-growing and expanding Te Rapa industrial zone and ideally located to the high-growth Auckland and Hamilton corridor. The combined Northgate/Waikato Freight Hub offering gives cargo owners loads of flexibility and options for their business. Cargo owners can buy land from Northgate and build their own facility in close proximity to our Waikato Freight Hub, or lease a site on the freight hub itself.
‘‘The Northgate area also has the best road and rail access of all the options we looked at, with good connections north, south, east and west. It is close to the Waikato Expressway and alongside the North Island Main Trunk rail line, with rapid and seamless port access.’’
Open Country Dairy has operated successfully on the Waikato Freight Hub since May 2019, using POA’s temporary rail siding at Crawford St, Hamilton to connect to rail services to and from Ports of Auckland.
‘‘Cargo owners have the ability to hire and de-hire containers at our temporary container depot in Hamilton at the moment, and this operation will move on site once we complete our container depot in June 2020,’’ Ball said.
‘‘The construction of 2ha of hardstand is well under way. We are in conversations with a number of interested parties for cold-store facilities, purposebuilt warehousing, and cross docking within the hub. The new road connection, including a road-over-rail bridge, was completed in late 2019. The road will be extended around the site and will facilitate access into the freight hub from the wider Northgate development.’’
POA is also working on a new container depot offering full services from June 2020, then will move to develop its rail siding by late 2021.
Northgate is selling preferred lots to those who wish to buy, and also offers opportunities to lease land.