Dredging to start in Tauranga Harbour in October

A Danish dredging company has won the tender to complete dredging at the Port of Tauranga that will allow it to accommodate larger ships.

Port of Tauranga, New Zealand's largest port company, will start dredging work in October.

Danish dredging company Rohde Nielsen has won the tender and been appointed to deepen and widen the shipping channels from 12.9 metres to 14.5m depth inside the harbour and 15.8m outside the harbour.

Work will be undertaken with a combination of trailer hopper suction dredge and backhoe, and is scheduled to start in October 2015 and will be completed by August 2016.

The Port has recently taken possession of two new tug boats and announced the purchase of a further two super post-panamax gantry cranes.

The dredging is the final building block in a $350 million capital expenditure programme over the last five years to facilitate New Zealand's exporters and importers being able to access the blue water savings of larger ships.