I’m a firm believer in bringing some of the congestion out of the Ports of Auckland and into Northport at Marsden Point. This will require some expansion of the Northport facility but will be of ultimate benefit to Whangarei, Northland, and to Auckland. 

Marsden Point is the deepest and largest natural deep sea port in the country. It offers 1.5m greater depth than Auckland can provide in one berth, and equal depth in the others, plus the surrounding necessary flat expanses of land required to operate massive freight and container handling. It’s ideal.

I believe we should support the encouragement of bigger freight vessels into Marsden Point, not just as a close port able to serve Ports of Auckland, but because we have our own local producers requiring container shipping service. Local fruit producers are currently freighting produce to Tauranga to access container shipping, and recently launched Cocavo Oil made in Whangarei, currently freights a container per week.

A container port would serve our local producers, serve Ports of Auckland with a deep water port in close proximity, ease congestion on Auckland’s waterfront, and bolster Northland’s economy.  Regional New Zealand, and particularly Northland, suffers from the lack of major industry which could supply both employment and economical spin-offs in virtually every business arena you could think of.

Our local asset should be fully utilised, and as a Council, WDC, should be doing everything in its power to make it work.

I’d love to hear your views on this.

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