Northport bids for a monster carpark
Marsden Maritime Holdings Ltd is urging the North Island vehicle industry, Ports of Auckland and Auckland Council to consider using some of the hundreds of hectares of land at Marsden Point to future-proof the upper North Island vehicle import industry.
It wants decisionmakers to explore fully the potential for changing the vehicle import business model alongside any decision about plans to barge cars up the Ta¯maki estuary from Bledisloe Wharf.
The company envisages a potential new business model that would see cars discharged from vessels directly to purpose-built storage, vehicle preparation and distribution facilities immediately outside the deep-water port in Whanga¯rei Harbour in a single movement, replacing multiple movements in Auckland, both under the current model and the proposed one.
Ports of Auckland already has a stake in 180ha of greenfield development land at Marsden Point, through its 19.9 per cent shareholding in Marsden Maritime Holdings. Sixtyfive hectares of that is portzoned land, which abuts directly on to the boundary of Northport. The remaining 115ha is designated as port zone and light industry.
“That’s a combined potential area of 180ha, more than twice the 77ha available at Ports of Auckland,” Marsden Maritime Holdings chairman Murray Jagger said.
There was another 520ha of commercially-zoned land nearby, taking the total available area to 700ha, more than twice the size of the entire Auckland CBD.
MMH also claims Northport could comfortably accommodate any car carrier operating in New Zealand, and could store approximately 5000 cars on a paved storage area within the port as an interim arrangement.
“There is huge opportunity at this very moment to change the model of vehicle importation and distribution in the upper North Island, and to future-proof the vehicle industry,” Mr Jagger said.
“We would like those making the decisions about Auckland vehicle imports to take all options into account, including the Northport option.”
Concerns about adding to traffic congestion on State Highway 1 could be addressed as part of the Northport option and a wider roading and transport strategy for Northland.
“We’re talking here about revolutionising the way the vehicle import industry is structured, and logistics would be part of this discussion, anything from the Auckland to Northport rail link already under investigation to a dedicated heavy vehicle lane on State Highway 1,” he added.
MMH was ready to engage with the vehicle industry, Ports of Auckland and Auckland Council, and would “move mountains” to bring the Northport option into being.