Northland cheers proposal to shift Auckland port to Northport: 'We're ready'

Thursday, 3 October 2019

The future roles of ports at Auckland, Tauranga and Marsden Point are being reviewed

Northland is welcoming a recommendation that Ports of Auckland closes and moves all its freight to Northport, with leaders calling it 'progressive' and 'fantastic' for the region.

The Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy, headed by former Far North mayor Wayne Brown, made the recommendation in its second interim report released on Thursday.

The plan will be refined into a final report, due to go to Cabinet next month.

Northport, New Zealand's northernmost deep-water port at the mouth of Whangarei Harbour, is ready to expand.

It would be New Zealand's most ambitious infrastructure project ever proposed, costing $10 billion, including a $1.6 billion rail line to Marsden Point, a freight hub in northwest Auckland, a major expansion of Northport and bringing forward the four-laning of State Highway 1 to Whangārei.

**READ MORE:

Undeveloped land at Northland's Marsden Point would allow freight activities to be moved from Auckland to Northport at low cost.

* Auckland port move: Study favours $10b plan to shift hub to [Northport

](https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/116258409/auckland-port-move-study-favours-10b-plan-to-shift-hub-to-northport-at-marsden-point)* Moving Auckland's port - the curtain rises

Ports of Auckland is a large business taking up prime waterfront land in Auckland's CBD.

* Northland rail: Link to Marsden Point 'next step'

* Northland motorists lament lack of SH1 progress in 'forgotten north'**

The Government has already committed to upgrading the North Auckland Rail line but a spur to Marsden Point is needed.

But an economic analysis showed the benefits would be twice as much as the costs, releasing valuable land in the centre of Auckland and developing much cheaper land at Marsden Point.

Northland would gain at least 2000 extra jobs each year worth $200 million over 30 years, although the full benefit could be as high as $2.7 billion over 30 years.

Many of those jobs would move from Auckland to Northland, which was expected to have a big impact on the north but a small impact on Auckland, given the relative size of their economies.

Barry Truss, the chairman of community-led group Prosper Northland Trust, said the plan would be 'huge' for the already growing Northland region.

'Northland has been neglected for a long time. I think it's fantastic.'

Northport is already well used for moving logs but its activity would have to significantly expand.

While the proposal had not yet been approved by Government, Truss said it was inevitable that it would be.

New Zealand First proposed moving Auckland's freight to Northport in 2017 and approval for the study was included in its coalition agreement with Labour.

Murray Jagger, chairman of Marsden Maritime Holdings, says land around Northport is just waiting to be developed.

'This is part of the strategy to develop the provinces, and help them grow and be part of the economic development of the country,' Truss said.

The rail upgrade would allow the freight to be moved without causing congestion on the roads, he said.

Truss said he was not concerned such a big increase in jobs in Northland would lead to a massive spike in house prices, saying there was a lot of land in the region which would be developed.

NORTHPORT READY TO EXPAND

Northport welcomed the findings of the report and said it was ready to grow and adjust to whatever business came its way.

'We have more space at our disposal than any other port in New Zealand and the ability to grow the port, as required, to help shipping companies reduce costs and improve efficiencies,' the company said in a statement.

Northport is jointly owned by Marsden Maritime Holdings and Port of Tauranga.

Ports of Auckland holds a near 20 per cent stake in Marsden Maritime Holdings, which also owns 180 hectares of greenfield land around Northport.

That land is more than twice the land available to Ports of Auckland, Marsden Maritime Holdings chairman Murray Jagger said.

There is also another 520 hectares of commercially-zoned land nearby at Marsden Point, making the area more than twice as big as the entire Auckland CBD.

Jagger said the working party's report was progressive, and he looked forward to the final report which would outline how the transfer from Auckland to Northport could occur.

Marsden Maritime Holdings was already vying for the vehicle import industry and felt an investment in road and rail links was vital, he said.