Napier Port today held the official opening ceremony of the port’s new 350-metre 6 Wharf – Te Whiti.
“What a great day, officially declaring 6 Wharf – Te Whiti – open for business. We were joined by hundreds of people who helped us bring our new wharf to Hawke’s Bay – the port team, mana whenua, customers, shareholders, contractors, construction partners, and our neighbours and community” the port said on its official social media account. “This has been a group effort dating back to 2016 when we first started having discussions about a new wharf.”
Major part of this massive infrastructure project was the creation of a new vessel turning area and deepening of the harbour’s waterways.
The two-year capital dredging programme included safe removal of approximately 1.2 million cubic metres of dredged material.
This created a new berth pocket alongside 6 Wharf and a larger swinging basin (where ships turn), as well as deepened parts of the inner harbour and the shipping channel closest to the port.
The new berth – now officially open for business – will provide increased shipping capacity, improve the availability and operational performance across all of Napier Port’s wharves.