A barge site at Opua Bay, Marlborough for carrying logs from Port Underwood forests by sea should be in operation by the end of the month.
The barge site has been developed by Rayonier New Zealand Ltd and recently received resource consent.
Rayonier regional manager Dave Malone says the site is well
on the way toward completion.
Port Underwood, Whatamango Bay, Waikawa and Picton residents lobbied Marlborough District Council earlier this year to expedite the formation of the barge site over safety concerns involving trucking the logs by road.
Rayonier is the largest of the forest owners in the Port Underwood area and plans to barge all of its export logs from Opua Bay. Logs to be milled locally, estimated at only a quarter of the volume, would continue to be trucked out of Opua Bay.
Guardians of the Sounds chairman Pete Beech said he was delighted that the barge site has come to fruition.
- NZPA
