Council updated on Midwest Ferry proposal
Published on 03 May 2017
3 May 2017
At the Council meeting yesterday Midwest Ferries Limited gave a presentation on its proposed ferry service from Whanganui to Motueka in the South Island.
Midwest Ferries promoter Neville Johnson was joined by consultants Nik Zangouropoulos and Warwick Walbran to talk about how they want to proceed with the proposed ferry service and to answer Councillors’ questions.
Midwest Ferries’ preferred option at this stage is for the proposal to begin as a freight service with the potential for a future passenger service. If the ferry proposal is viable, the team indicated the service would be operational from 2021.
Mr Zangouropoulos said Midwest Ferries is looking at engaging experts in the form of a board structure to take the proposal to the next level, at a cost of $1 to $1.5M of private funding to get the ferry proposal to a “go or no-go” stage.
Mayor Hamish McDouall said more detailed information on technical and environmental specifications was needed, as well as an assessment of the likely response from competitors.
“There are still issues to be worked through before the Midwest Ferries proposal can be part of the business case for the Whanganui Port, which will be presented to the Government at the end of June 2017.
“There the variables about ferry size, whether it is carrying freight or passengers and whether Motueka or Nelson is the appropriate South Island Port.
“Receiving this information could be a game changer in terms of what we can provide to the Government in our Port Revitalisation business case.”
Mayor McDouall reiterated to Councillors and the public watching in the Chamber or via livestream that although he generally supports a ferry concept, he wanted to make people aware that the Midwest Ferries proposal would “stand or fall on its own merits” and that it was not currently part of the Port Masterplan.
“Regardless of whether the Midwest Ferries proposal is feasible or not, the Port Masterplan will still go ahead in conjunction with other interested parties wanting to establish their business at the Port. A Whanganui to South Island ferry is not a new idea but it is an exciting one if the business can be scaled appropriately and some key details ironed out.”
He also recommended that the ferry proposal considered passengers as well as freight, as a passenger service has the potential to boost economic benefit for Whanganui.
“I know that the district is excited about Whanganui being a tourism hub and it is a very logical route from the Central Plateau to the West Coast, which are two of New Zealand’s outstanding landscapes.”
Councillors questioned Mr Johnson and his team on a range of issues, including dredging requirements for the proposed 180-metre ship, environmental impacts, financial implications and resource management requirements.
Cr Rob Vinsen recommended the Council seek confirmation of interest from Tasman District Council and Talleys Group Limited, which is a significant stakeholder in the Motueka Port, before Midwest Ferries proceeds with its proposal.
Mayor McDouall said that conversations had already occurred with Tasman District Council and it was too early to proceed with Cr Vinsen’s recommendation.
The adopted recommendations were:
3.1 That the presentation is received
3.2 That a further report is awaited from Whanganui District Council’s Holdings Limited on the Midwest Ferry proposal, together with an update on the Port Revitalisation Programme
3.3 That the presenters are thanked.
The livestream of yesterday’s meeting can be found at www.whanganui.govt.nz/live-council-meetings
Background information
Following the Government’s announcement of Accelerate 25 funding for the Port Revitalisation Project in August 2016, Midwest Ferries indicated to the Port Revitalisation Group that it was interested in developing a Whanganui-to-Motueka ferry service.
Since that time, the Port Revitalisation Group, made up of marine experts, a skilled project management team, Council staff, Whanganui District Holdings, iwi, the community and government, has been in discussions with Mr Johnson and his team about what a feasible ferry service would look like.