'Super depot' for NZ Post in Wellington could create 350 jobs

Monday, 22 June 2020

11 infrastructure projects have been fast-tracked by the government to boost the post-Covid economy.

NZ Post has announced a new 'super depot' will be built in Grenada, Wellington, and expects to create about 350 jobs to build it.

It's the start of NZ Post's grand plan for a 10-year parcel growth, starting with Monday's announcement to invest close to $170 million to double its processing capacity.

NZ Post expects the Wellington super depot to open in 2022.

'NZ Post is forecasting significant growth in the amount New Zealanders will buy online in the next decade - this was before the explosion in online shopping during the Covid-19 period,' NZ Post chief executive David Walsh said.

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NZ Post expects the Wellington super depot to open in 2022 (file photo).

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NZ Post received over 3.5 million parcels in the first week of alert level 2 (file photo).

'Last year online shopping in New Zealand grew 13 per cent with almost 50 per cent of adult New Zealanders now shopping online, and we are expecting this growth to continue.'

The programme also includes a new processing centre in Wiri, Auckland, due to open in 2023, and an upgrade to the Southern Operations Centre in Christchurch in 2022.

The Wellington depot will have a 10,440 square metre processing floor - about the size of a rugby field.

The project's main contractors, Aspec Construction Wellington Ltd, are expecting to employ around 350 people through 60 sub-contractors.

NZ Post plans to invest around $18 million in the latest global technology to sort and scan parcels at a much faster rate.

'We know that customers really want complete visibility of where their parcel is at all times of its journey, and this technology will improve our ability to do this,' Walsh said.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce president John Milford said it was fantastic news to have a depot in the region.

Given it was a new depot it was likely to have the latest technology and be highly-automated, which would mean fewer jobs overall and fewer low-skills jobs once it was built, he said.

'People who normally work in that automated environment are higher skilled and higher paid,' he added.

The super depot will be designed to accommodate a large solar power installation for when technology made it a viable option.

Following the covid-19 lockdown, NZ Post received over 3.5 million parcels in the first two weeks of alert level 2.

Associate minister for state owned enterprises Shane Jones said New Zealanders are aware of the issues for NZ Post dealing with 'the huge surge' in parcel post.

'This new state of the art depot will provide NZ Post with the capacity to process parcels more quickly and efficiently,' Jones said.

'This investment is good news for New Zealand businesses who are looking to grow their e-commerce presence.'

It would also be welcomed by the customers on the receiving end.

NZ Post recently received a two-tranche equity injection of $150m from the government’s Covid Response and Recovery Fund. It has also received $130m from Budget 2020.