Bay can be boosted: study

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said the Bay of Plenty's natural assets, climate, and "increasingly innovative population" offered potential for certain sectors. Photo / Getty Images

Tourism, forestry and specialised manufacturing are among growth areas pin-pointed in a new blueprint for the Bay of Plenty, launched today.

The 200-page Bay of Plenty Regional Growth Study (PDF), commissioned by the Government, examined potential economy-boosters in the region and found priority areas in a mix of old and new, and largely primary, industries.

The six areas were forestry, horticulture, agriculture, aquaculture, the visitor economy (tourism and events) and specialised manufacturing, specifically in research and development around titanium powders and alloy products.

To meet the potential, the region could improve water management, the use of geothermal energy and transport infrastructure, boost skills and technology uptake, and increase the productivity of Maori land.

Economic drivers already in the works included a new university campus for Tauranga that, within two decades, would have capacity for 1,500 students and have generated benefits of over $188 million.

The next step, the study found, was bringing together the region's leaders to put an action plan together.

The Bay of Plenty accounts for 5.7 per cent of the national GDP - or around $11.8 billion - and its 148,000 jobs made up 6.6 per cent of employment.

However, its economic growth over the five years to 2014 was slightly behind the national average.

Recent data showed that while the region had higher rate of unemployment than the rest of the country, this had been declining marginally each year.

The region was also a combination of differently performing sub-economies - the Western Bay of Plenty, taking in Tauranga and Mt Maunganui, was growing fast compared to the declining Eastern sub-region (Whakatane, Kawerau and Opotiki) and its stable heart (Rotorua and Taupo).

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, who launched the report in Tauranga today alongside Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, said the region's natural assets, climate, and "increasingly innovative population" offered potential for the forestry, pastoral farming, aquaculture and horticulture sectors.

"It underscores the importance of water management, and that a better range of quality training programmes and pathways to work will see the region retain and attract more young people."

Doug Leeder, chair of cross-region group Bay of Connections, said the study was a "significant development" for the region.

"We need to add to this momentum and investment by identifying and focus on the key priorities," he said.

"There is no silver bullet that will transform the Bay of Plenty and its economy, but we have a great deal of untapped potential, expertise, talent and significant geographic and competitive advantages to hold our own in New Zealand and the world."

The programme builds on the East Coast Regional Economic Potential Study that was released in April last year.

The Northland Growth Study was released in February 2015, and a further study is currently under way in the Manawatu-Whanganui regions.