Northland’s dry dock to cost at least $500 million to build

Minister Shane Jones says the cost to build the dry dock in Northland is estimated to cost around half a billion. Photo / Tania Newman

A dry dock facility project in Northland will see its building costs double to $500 million, mainly due to ongoing inflation, Minister for Regional Development Shane Jones said.

Earlier last year, the Advocate reported that the Ministry of Transport appointed consultancy firm PwC to undertake the business case work for the project which was expected to cost about $250m.

Despite the massive price hike, Jones was confident the region would benefit in revenue worth millions, from establishing such coastal infrastructure. A development that National promised as part of its election campaign last year.

“As much it pains me. It’s mainly inflation and costs for consenting processes that are going to take a lot.

“But having this development will have an enormous positive impact on everyone in Northland. It’s crucial to have upgraded and modernised infrastructure to bring economic prosperity,” he said.

Northport Chief Executive Jon Moore agreed and expressed his support for a project that would not only bring an economic boom, but also an employment boost for the region.

A report by Northland Inc. suggested that the facility could create an additional 1135 jobs and generate a total income of $290m annually by 2060.

However, he clarified that the dry dock was not a Northport project and that resource consent for the facility was required.

“To see the minister kicking the project back on again is fantastic,” Moore said.

Jones said he understood that the local hapū have expressed discontent with the project due to some “negative impacts on the environment”. He believed that the fast-track consenting bill, which could become law later this year, might address their concerns.

“Yes, we want to see positive environmental outcomes. But we also want to see a resilient and employment-rich Māori community in Northland.”

Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board member and hapū representative Juliane Chetham said they anticipate that building such a facility would have a negative impact both environmentally and culturally.

Juliane Chetham, Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board member believes the dry dock build can potentially have negative impacts on the environment .photo/ Michael Cuningham.

But they were yet to make a complete assessment to have a conclusive stance.

Chetham said since Northport only focused on the eastern wing expansion project, which Patuharakeke strongly opposed, the hapū didn’t look into the details of the dry dock facility on the western end.

“There could be positive economic benefits for our whānau and the hapū. And hence we need to do the assessments to know better.”

She encouraged Jones to have an open discussion with the hapū. But she did not welcome his idea of using the fast-track legislation process.

“We don’t know what level of impact it could have. And our first thoughts on the legislation is that we don’t support it. We will make our opposition known by submitting against the legislation,” Chetham said. The submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill closed on Friday.

Jones also said the Government’s other infrastructure plans were to have a swifter establishment of a rail link connecting Marsden Point and Northport to the main trunk line. And to create a new road as part of a four-lane alternative to the Brynderwyns.

The Northport Drydock Project seeks to build a dry dock at Northport capable of serving some of New Zealand’s larger vessels. These vessels currently need to go abroad to Sydney or Singapore for maintenance. Photo / Michael Cunningham.

He said the railway spur initiative was part of the coalition agreement but acknowledged that the work undertaken by KiwiRail in 2017 was “frustratingly slow”.

“What’s disappointing is the long time they are taking to use the concrete sleepers and advance the necessary upgrades. And I do understand that progress between Whangārei and Moerewa is currently stalled.”

He felt that if KiwiRail was unable to deliver in Northland, then it “lessens” the Government’s confidence in its ability to carry out projects in other areas of the country, as it seeks more money from the Treasury.

KiwiRail chief asset development officer David Gordon said 80 per cent of the land needed for the Marsden Point Rail Link has been purchased through the PGF funding.

He said in 2021 about $692m was allocated through the previous government’s New Zealand Upgrade Programme to build the link and for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to make State Highway 1 roading improvements in Northland.

Following the allocation, the organisation completed an indicative business case for the link which suggested that the cost would approach $1 billion and was well beyond the available funding.

Gordon said last year KiwiRail undertook a detailed value engineering initiative to understand the several “big ticket” items driving the cost such as examining geological features, tides, and the amount of earth needed to be moved.

Other factors were civil works involved in building the rail corridor and the potential for KiwiRail and NZTA to share a common rail-road corridor along parts of the spur route.

He said the work would be completed by mid-2025 and would be used to inform the Government’s consideration around funding.

Concerning the North Auckland Line between Swanson and Whangārei, Gordon said that repair was underway after more than 200 sites were damaged along the 180km line following the late January 2023 weather event.

“Our focus has to be on reopening the operating line between Swanson and Whangārei so that freight services to and from Northland can resume. We are aiming to reopen the [line] in July,” Gordon said.

Jones said the plans to build a new road over the Brynderwyns were mainly to take the stress off the four-lane road.

“After all Northland needs a future-proof roading system.”

He said that since 2018 about $83m has been spent on roads. And that the current focus was mainly on fixing and upgrading the existing road system which is expected to be completed before this winter.

Jones confirmed that much of these developments would require significant private funding. But would also have substantial government backing through its regional infrastructure fund of $1.2b for projects in Aotearoa.

Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Northern Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.