NZ’s Northland in push for Marsden Point superport

<p>New Zealand’s hub port should be at Marsden Point, according to Northland Port Corp chairman Mike Daniel, the <em>Northern Advocate</em> newspaper reported yesterday (Monday, October 30).</p> <p>Its deep draught, turning space, 200 ha of landside space and long distance from urban development, made the Northland facility "the pre-eminent deep-water port in the southern hemisphere", Mr Daniel told the corporation’s annual meeting.</p> <p>However, the Marsden Point facility lacks container cranes and the rail link.</p> <p>Mr Daniel’s comments follow Ports of Auckland and the port of Tauranga revealing earlier this month they were in possible merger talks.</p> <p>"Now the two main players &#8211 and protagonists &#8211 in the New Zealand port industry have agreed to explore rationalisation, it is time for central government to show leadership in preparing for the long-term infrastructure required to accommodate the predicted doubling of container traffic in the next 10 years," he said.</p> <br />