Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy He Rautaki mō te Raupapa Whakarato ki Te Pito Whakararo o Te Ika

In December 2019, Cabinet considered the working group’s final report and noted the POAL was not viable as the upper North Island’s primary port over the long term.

Our officials together with Treasury and the Provincial Development Unit within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) were tasked with undertaking further work on the issue. They considered 5 options for relocating the Port of Auckland:

• Northport, as recommended by the working group
• Port of Tauranga
• a shared increase in capacity at both Northport and Port of Tauranga
• a new port in the Firth of Thames
• a new port in the Manukau Harbour.

To inform the policy analysis required to make this decision, the agencies commissioned a report by independent consultant Sapere.

The Government released the working group’s final report, which examined the issues around the POAL’s future and concluded that POAL freight operation in central Auckland is no longer economically or environmentally viable. The working group considered 6 scenarios to determine the most efficient arrangement of upper North Island ports.

Working group’s recommendations

After nearly 15 months of work and 2 interim reports, the group had a number of recommendations:

• POAL’s CBD freight operation is no longer economically or environmentally viable, and is constrained by landside infrastructure failure. It is in the interests of taxpayers and ratepayers that it be progressively closed and the land it currently occupies be progressively rezoned for better uses.
• Northport should be developed to take over much or all of Auckland’s existing and projected future freight business.
• Port of Tauranga’s existing expansion plans should proceed to accommodate economic growth.
• Auckland’s cruise ship terminal should be modernised and the Waitematā become a commuter, tourism and recreational harbour.
• The new 2-port configuration should be supported by a rejuvenated North Auckland rail line and spur to Northport, and a new inland freight hub in northwest Auckland to complement and be connected to Metroport in the south of Auckland.
• This transition should begin immediately and be fully completed by no later than 2034, and preferably by 2029.

This second report built on the working group’s interim thinking and provided a strategic investigation of the upper North Island supply chain. The group focused on determining the possible options that different stakeholders had and used a strategic approach to analyse whole system performance.

The working group also contracted EY to assist in developing an economic and multi-criteria evaluation of the potential options for the future of the POAL.

The interim report noted the results of the working group’s initial investigations, stakeholder engagement and the main themes that had emerged.

These included port ownership, efficiency, social licence and community support, investment, optimal land use, and the wider context the strategy was being developed within. It also set out the group’s plan to complete the review, explore scenarios and present a strategy.

While in its discovery phase, the working group visited sites, including Northport and Ports of Auckland and was planning a visit to Port of Tauranga. The group had also received advice from Government, met stakeholders and completed an initial analysis of the supply chain to gain an understanding of the freight system.

Cabinet agreed on terms of reference for a review that would guide the development and delivery of a supply chain strategy for the upper North Island, including ports. This work would also offer advice on the priorities for investment in rail, roads and other supporting infrastructure.

Beehive Release: Future focus on Upper North Island logistics(external link)