WRC gives $2m to Sugarloaf Wharf

Funding boosts for a Coromandel wharf and for Waikato’s screen industry have been made in the first grants of Waikato Regional Council’s regional development fund.

The council will give $2 million to Te Ariki Tahi/ Sugarloaf Wharf Ltd and $575,000 to Hamilton-Waikato Tourism for the Waikato Screens project.

The wharf in Te Kouma received $19.95m from the Government’s provincial growth fund in 2020 to expand the capacity for mussel farming by 20,000 tonnes.

A statement from the council said the wharf expansion will unlock approximately $822m of economic benefit over 35 years, and support 880 jobs.

The growth of the marine farming sector in Coromandel is reliant on wharf infrastructure, councillors have heard. The funding agreement will include a number of conditions, including a requirement that all consents are first approved before the grant is paid, as well as the setting of performance expectations.

The wharf is jointly owned by Thames-Coromandel District Council, Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

Council chairman Russ Rimmington said the funding will contribute to marine farmers investing in on-water operations.

‘‘The potential to change lives, to boost the local and regional economy through this work, is the reason why this council has committed funds to it,’’ Rimmington said.

In a nod towards Waikato’s burgeoning screen industry, over half a million dollars will be given to Waikato Screens over the next three years.

Hamilton-Waikato Tourism will receive the funding on behalf of the project, with the goal to actively promote the region as a place to shoot films and scout locations.