Ports of Auckland wants to sell the Port of Onehunga to Panuku Development Auckland for public use, once it finished consolidating operations to its main port on the Waitemata Harbour.
The council-owned port operator says the Manukau Harbour is too shallow for modern shipping operations, and it has relocated much of the freight operation to Waitemata in recent years.
The construction of a new cement import facility at the Waitemata port, to be completed in 2016, is the final phase in the move to freight operations from Onehunga says the Port operator.
“Our land at the Port of Onehunga will be made available to Aucklanders, just as Princes Wharf, Queens Wharf, the Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter have been opened up for public use and enjoyment,” says Port of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson.
“By improving our efficiency we have been able to consolidate our operations, reduce our land footprint by half and still continue to serve Auckland and New Zealand’s growing freight needs,” says Gibson.
“This efficiency enabled large areas of the Waitemata waterfront to be opened up for public use, and we are delighted to be able to do the same for Onehunga and the Manukau.”
“Onehunga town centre and its surrounds are a key location where we will facilitate long-term residential and commercial developments that deliver on one of the objectives of the Auckland Plan – to radically improve the quality of urban living,” says Panuku Development Auckland chief executive John Dalzell.
Within that, transforming the Onehunga port site to facilitate more public uses is seen as the key to unlocking the economic, recreation, tourism and transportation potential of the Manukau Harbour.
On that basis, Panuku Development Auckland is considering the acquisition of the site.
“Technical and environmental due diligence on the site is complete, and we hope to enter into a conditional agreement for the site in the coming months,” says Dalzell.
“Panuku appreciates the importance of the site to the local community, and once an agreement is final, it will undertake a comprehensive master planning exercise that will include the local board and key stakeholders,” he says.
