Auckland port expansion on hold

Ports of Auckland. Photo / supplied

Scroll over the image above to see how the port will look - if the plan goes ahead - compared to the current view.

The Auckland Council has put the brakes on further expansion of the Auckland port into the Waitemata Harbour but stopped short of putting a permanent end to the expansion.

The decision was made in a Council meeting this morning.

It had planned to extend the port 250m into the prized harbour. The Port Development Plan proposed the larger site to cope with a 400 per cent increase in traffic before 2055.

Today the Council voted to undertake an extensive review of the role of Ports of Auckland before deciding on whether to support further expansion into the harbour.

Councillors voted down an amendment from councillor Mike Lee not to support any further expansion beyond the reclamation already consented for.

The port plan had come under widespread attack, including from Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye, who accused the Council of prematurely giving the all-clear to the expansion.

She said the draft Auckland Plan appeared to set in stone the upgrade of the port, whose owners have proposed a long-term expansion from 77ha to 95ha.

In a letter to Mayor Len Brown the National Party representative urged the council to acknowledge the full process of the expansion, including public consultation.

The Auckland Council has instructed the port company to double its dividend from a six per cent rate of return to 12 per cent over five years.

- HERALD ONLINE