Windows of opportunity for Whanganui port
Published on 18 December 2015
18 December 2015
A combined focus on “keeping windows of opportunity alive” for Whanganui’s commercial port will see work on Wharf 1 beginning in January as the first step in a series of enhancements.
Whanganui District Council, its Holding Company and iwi have been considering various options for the future of the port, taking account of the near term business potential, the state of the infrastructure, freight potential and the growth in recreational trailer boats. Closing the commercial port was one of the options considered.
However, Mayor Annette Main says the decision was made to take steps to make the commercial port more viable for future use, progressively house more onshore-related business and undertake a staged development of the recreational boating area.
“We have an exciting plan to upgrade the port and nearby areas and also tie them in to other initiatives to enhance Whanganui, such as the City to North Mole shared pathway proposal which will form part of the Mountains to Sea national cycleway,” Mayor Main said.
“We’re looking at more opportunities for recreational boat owners who are significant users of the port area, as well as working with commercial users and providing more options for future use. The signing of the contract for work on Wharf 1 is a signal that we are committed to our port and its future development.
“There is a real commitment from this council to get the port upgrade under way.”
Cr Rob Vinsen, who together with Mayor Main is a Holdings director, said the upgrades and plans for the future were welcome news.
“Our community has seen little progress at the Port in recent years; however, there has been a lot happening behind the scenes. Early discussions with Port Taranaki ended when it became clear that a future offshore industry was to be postponed.
“However, strategic decisions on the Port’s future and engineering studies of both the river management and a structural upgrade of Wharf 1 have proceeded to the point that this upgrade work will start shortly.
"I am looking forward to progress at our port, including a clean-up of neglected areas and getting on with much needed maintenance.
“Along with the upgraded boat launching area we will be able to offer storage for recreational boats and will be asking for expressions of interest from people who would like space in a storage facility “
Planning for the Port’s future
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Work will begin in late January to upgrade most of Wharf 1 to cater for heavy trucks, cranes and similar equipment. Following a public tender process, this $1.8M contract was awarded to Concrete Structures Ltd.
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Tonkin and Taylor, Council’s new Port Engineers, are working with representatives of a boat users group to plan and cost a staged upgrade of the recreational boating area. Current budgets are around $480,000, which does not go very far with marine related works so other funding options will need to be pursued. The first physical works should start in March/April and the intent is also to introduce user pays to fund future development.
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A recently refitted barge, currently at Bluff, has been purchased. The all-up cost after the barge is fitted out with a cradle for the long reach excavator, spud(adjustable legs on the barge that are lowered to the bed of the river and keep the barge stable while the excavator is working) winches will be about $200,000. The barge will be used for dredging but has a ramp to load heavy vehicles.
Background
After the purchase back of the Whanganui Port business from River City Port Ltd the Whanganui District Council advertised for a port operator and has been dealing with a number of commercial parties involved in the port and related transport business.
The port’s current function is to provide a safe harbour for coastal, commercial and recreational vessels that can navigate the depths that currently exist on the river bar. While larger ships could be catered for if the bar and main channels were dredged, it would require a huge number of ship movements to support the cost of dredging and we have confirmed, from talking to people around New Zealand actively involved in the business, there is no viable potential market in the planning horizon.
The feasibility studies undertaken about two years ago looked encouraging for small scale growth, mainly due to providing a base for service boats for planed offshore oil, gas and iron sands extraction. The drop in world commodity prices has seen these ventures postponed.