A joint venture partnership has been established to develop and operate the inland port (otherwise known as an intermodal terminal) currently under construction at Ruakura.
The 50/50 joint venture between Tainui Group Holdings (TGH), the commercial company of the port owners, Waikato-Tainui, and LINX Cargo Care Group, owned by a Brookfield consortium, is to take an initial 30-year lease of the intermodal terminal, which will subject to approval by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).
Rukumoana Schaafhausen, who is chairman of the Waikato Tainui tribe’s executive committee said that there was a mutual understanding with LINX regarding the inter-generational benefits of the development.
“LINX brings not only significant expertise in port development and operation but also a long-term vision that matches our view of the positive environmental, social and economic advantages that must and will come from this project,” Schaafhausen said.
Chris Joblin, TGH chief executive, said that the agreement with LINX had been formed after carrying out a “comprehensive” RFP process over 10 months in which seven port operators had expressed interest.
“LINX and [its subsidiary] C3 share our long-term vision to help transform North Island freight flows, driving new levels of productivity, efficiency and speed to market for the rapidly growing export and import community in the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga,” he said.
The Ruakura development will provide access to the Ports of Auckland and Tauranga through main trunk rail services and Waikato Expressway. It will be complemented by adjoining precincts for logistics, along with industrial, commercial, residential and retail use.
“Ruakura will be transformational for the New Zealand logistical supply chain. It will offer stable, efficient and cost-effective networks for importers and exporters to grow with confidence in the future,” Anthony Jones, group CEO for LINX and chairman of C3 said.
C3 will run the day-to-day operations of the terminal, and it is hoped that its position as New Zealand’s largest on-port services provider would mean a substantial supply of potential customers would flow to Ruakura.
“We are in positive discussions with prospective customers and tenants for the inland port and adjoining logistics hub which will have excellent connections to the East Coast Main Trunk Line and to the new Waikato Expressway via a full diamond interchange,” Joblin said.
It is also expected that the terminal will have the potential to eventually support 6,000 to 12,000 jobs within the precinct once it is complete. Indeed, part of the agreement is a commitment from LINX to create jobs for Waikato-Tainui tribal members.
Stage 1 of Ruakura is expected to be in operation by the first half of 2019.