Ports of Auckland Ltd announced that it has signed a conditional agreement to purchase 33 hectares of land at Northgate Business Park for development as a freight hub. The site has excellent road and rail connections and is located at Horotiu, 8 km north of Hamilton in an area with growing manufacturing, warehousing and logistics businesses.
“Establishing a freight hub in the Waikato is a central part of our supply chain strategy as it is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing areas and a major freight generator. Waikato will complete our North Island freight hub network, complementing our existing sites in the Manawatu, Bay of Plenty and Wiri, South Auckland,” Ports of Auckland Chief Executive Tony Gibson said.
The key benefit of the freight hub network is that it can be used to balance freight flows around the North Island and eliminate unnecessary movement of empty containers. By driving out waste from the supply chain the company can lower the cost to importers and exporters.
“We are committed to increasing our use of rail and creating a more sustainable transport system, which will in turn help generate infrastructure savings at a national level. Our target is to increase the use of rail from 13 percent to 30 percent of traffic to our Waitematā port in Auckland. The development of our inland freight hub network is critical to achieving this target,” Gibson added.
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