Port’s re-berth result of rapid growth
LYTTELTON PORT’S reclamation into Te Awaparahi Bay could spread to 35 hectares as part of a $1 billion expansion plan over 30 years.
Within the total, the port will spend $450 million over the next five years bulking up berths and handling facilities to cope with forecast annual container volume growth of 5-7 per cent.
That work, spreading the port to the east away from Lyttelton township, is partly quake damage reinstatement work after an insurance payout settlement of $438m earlier this year, chief executive Peter Davie says.
Separately, there was a lot of other remedial or quake repair work to be done on the other wharfs, including $40m of work on the oil wharf while it continues to operate.
The company has already hired an extra 80 or so contractors for quake-related work, after damage in 2010 and 2011, that would be split into about 45 projects over time.
Eventually, more than 100 contractors will be employed on repair work.
Davie said an $80m project to restore 230 metres of Cashin Quay 2 had already started.
Another big-ticket item was a $40m paving project for the wider Cashin Quay container area.
‘‘Our view is we should end up with a facility that’s second to none. I know that wharf we’re rebuilding at CQ2, it’s the strongest in the country from a geotech etc perspective.’’
Davie said the port had reached 5.5ha on its existing reclamation project. It already had consent for 10ha being filled with earthquake rubble in the next two years.
Over a much longer period, the port plans to extend its recla- mation area into Te Awaparahi Bay within Lyttelton Harbour to 30-35ha to move containers away from the township.
‘‘We still haven’t ascertained how far out we’re going to push, where our berth-line will be and where our breakwaters will be,’’ Davie said.
‘‘So we’ll be looking at that going forward.’’
There is likely to be some opposition to further reclamation from groups including the Green Party.
Davie said growth in the last four years had been extraordinary.
‘‘The volume of containers through our terminal is up just over 40 per cent since the earthquakes started so we’ve had a real growth.
‘‘I would say cargo comes and goes a bit ... [but] we’re forecasting about 5-7 per cent compounding growth.’’
The port’s volumes were up by about 7 per cent to 8 per cent on an annual basis according to the latest stats, Davie said.
The company’s Z wharf on the western end of Cashin Quay had ‘‘absolutely had it so [was] unlikely to be remediated’’.
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