Karl Mischewski, Gull retail development manager, said work on the Waipapa site had been delayed by consent issues but he now expected it to open in March.
It would be an unmanned site with four dispensers offering regular, Force 10 (98 octane) and diesel. Payment would be by Eftpos or credit card. There would be no Gull shop but the developer was planning retail outlets on the multi-tenant site.
It was too early to say what petrol would cost but Mr Mischewski said Gull's arrival would bring genuine competition beyond Whangarei and force other service stations to lower their prices.
"Wherever Gull turns up, lo and behold, prices drop," he said.
"They'll try to match us - bring it on, we say. But it does beg the question: Why does it take Gull, a small family-owned operation, to turn up and rattle the others?"
Gull also had many requests to open in Kaitaia but Waipapa was as far north as the company could go while remaining competitive because its fuel was transported from Mt Maunganui. The big four firms get their petrol from Marsden Pt.
Of the possible sites in the Bay of Islands, Waipapa was chosen for its growth prospects and role as a retail hub. Gull's decision to invest was a "thumb's up" for the area.
When Gull opened a service station in Tokoroa in November, prices at every outlet in town dropped by 9 cents a litre within a day, Mr Mischewski said.
