Impressive, mega-cranes arrive in Auckland to keep up with city's rapid growth

Three mega-cranes with a price tag of $60 million, this morning sailed in on a ship into Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.

Each one is 82.3 metres tall - almost 20m taller than Auckland's Harbour Bridge - and weigh 2,100 tonnes.

Built in Shanghai, the giant cranes, towering high above spectactors' heads as it glided in to dock at about 830am, had been at sea for four weeks.

The ship containing the Ports of Auckland cranes comes into the inner harbour this morning. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The trip was meant to be speedier but faced delays along the way due to bad weather.

Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson told the Herald the container cranes were truly a game changer.

"These three container cranes are all about meeting the demands of Auckland.

"They can be remotely operated [and] in a first in the world, they can lift containers out of the hold of a ship at different heights," he said.

Each crane can lift four containers at once, weighing up to 130 tonnes - which is considered to be a New Zealand first.

Gibson said it was quite an investment, costing $60 million in total, but was "much needed".

The three mega-cranes are each 82.3 metres tall - almost 20 metres taller than Auckland's Harbour Bridge. Photo / Doug Sherring

Operations manager John Miller said they'd built a new wharf that could take some of the largest cranes in Australasia.

"That allows us to turn the ships around quicker, regardless of the tide and the amount of cargo they put on."

It will take a week to get the cranes off the ship it came on, and a further five to six months before they can begin operating.