Northport takes close look at car imports

Bosses at Northport have looked at how the site could handle imported vehicles as part of its future growth plans.

Murray Jagger, chairman, says modelling on different freight systems has been conducted as debate swirls around relocating operations from Ports of Auckland (POAL).

He believes Northport, based at Marsden Point in Northland, can be complementary to Auckland’s port rather than replacing it entirely.

However, Northport remains keen for commercial growth despite his collaborative vision.

“We’ve been looking at what [freight] systems we need to be working in to primarily assist Northport’s growth and also Marsden Maritime’s growth,” explains Jagger. 

Northport is jointly owned by Port of Tauranga and Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH). Ports of Auckland is a 20 per cent shareholder in MMH, which is 53 per cent owned by the Northland Regional Council.

Northport has 180ha of greenfield land and a further 700ha of land available in the Bream Bay district available for development, reports the New Zealand Herald.

Jagger says discussions over the future location of an upper North Island port is pointless until the issue of where freight needs to be is analysed in more detail.

“A number of key points have probably been lost in all the debate, [such as] what does a resilient upper North Island supply chain really look like and where does the freight that currently comes to all ports really need to be?

“Once we have a meaningful analysis of where the freight is going to be and [see] where the growth is going to be, [we can say] these are the ports that will handle that freight.

“We see ourselves as a staged complementary process to Auckland, as opposed to taking off Auckland.”

NZ First has been vociferous in its campaign to develop a major port in Northland, pitting Northport against POAL in debates. Maintaining current freight operations in central Auckland is seen by many politicians as unsustainable in the long term.

A port in the Manukau Harbour emerged as the top alternative to POAL in a report released by economic consultancy Sapere in July 2020.

The government has deferred a decision on the future of the Auckland port as it considers the relocation options, which include Northport, Manukau, the Firth of Thames, Port of Tauranga, and a shared increase in capacity at both Northport and the Port of Tauranga.

The Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy Independent Working Group previously identified Northport as the preferred option.