The foundational earthworks for the first stage of the Ruakura inland port are commencing later this week according to Tainui Group Holdings (TGH).
TGH chief executive Chris Joblin says it is an exciting milestone after some years on the drawing board and in the planning rooms for the overall 480-hectare project on the eastern boundary of Hamilton.
“As a long-term development project likely to span 20-30 years Ruakura will deliver significant benefits for the region’s exporters and importers as well as opportunities for Waikato-Tainui people and it has the potential to support 6,000-12,000 jobs within the precinct once fully-built,” says Joblin.
Kiingi Tuheitia blessed the site during a tribal ceremony attended by Waikato-Tainui leaders and tribal members on 28 March.
TGH has appointed New Zealand-owned infrastructure company Fulton Hogan as the contractor to carry out the first works covering the first seven hectares of what will eventually be a 31- hectare inland port with the capacity to handle around 1 million TEUs (20-foot container equivalents) per year when fully built.
“Foundational earthworks will involve trucking crushed rock into the site to pre-load the area to be used for the container marshalling yard. It will take around 12 months for the ground to settle before pavement layers, a rail siding, noise wall, screen planting and services can be completed,” says Joblin.
“We are in consultation with a range of potential customers and tenants for the inland port and adjoining logistics hub which will provide ‘port neutrality’ between Ports of Auckland and Port of Tauranga,” he says,
“The site will have excellent connections to the East Coast main trunk line and the new Waikato Expressway via a full diamond interchange,” says Joblin.
Fulton Hogan Waikato Regional manager Kerry Watkins says the company was pleased to partner with a project of national significance.
“As we move into the initial works, keeping people safe on the roads and on the site, is a top priority,” says Watkins.
“We take the health and safety of our people and communities very seriously. Fulton Hogan has a zero-harm policy and a commitment to safe public operations. Together with TGH, we will monitor feedback to ensure safe and courteous truck operations on public roads and seek to minimise impacts on neighbours,” he says.
Extra safety measures will include temporary traffic management warning signs and speed restrictions.
TGH expects to appoint a world-class port operator in mid-2017 following an RFP process currently underway and plans to commence initial operations at the inland port in the first half of 2019.
