Contractors and businesses learn more about Te Pūwaha at Whanganui project briefing

Business representatives attended a project briefing for Te Pūwaha, the Whanganui Port Revitalisation Project. Photo / Supplied

More than 40 interested contractors and associated businesses attended a project briefing for Te Pūwaha, the Whanganui Port revitalisation project, to learn more about the planned rebuild and see the site first-hand.

During the briefing, presentations were made by Te Pūwaha project director Hayden Turoa, as well as representatives from the Whanganui Port Operating Company, the Port Employment Precinct, and Whanganui & Partners.

Turoa said it was humbling to see so many interested parties.

“We were able to create an environment for prospective contractors to learn more about our values under Te Awa Tupua, while also providing a space for connections to be made between providers, and with associated services,” Turoa said.

One of those services was employment facilitator the Port Employment Precinct (PEP).

Its business pathways activator Seletar Taputoro said the day was invaluable in connecting with local businesses.

“Our role is to get local people into local jobs so it’s really important we connect with businesses who could be potentially working on the port rebuild, in that way we can identify training needs and create pathways for employment,” Taputoro said.

She said Te Pūwaha had already created 100 jobs since the project’s inception and was expected to create more than 250 jobs within the first three years, both directly and through contractors.

In January, a call was made to local businesses to register their interest in taking part in a major stage of construction for the project.

The work will take place in two stages, with Stage One inviting participants which can undertake work such as the construction of the hardstand and concrete structures for Q-West’s 380-tonne mobile boat hoist and the development of a water treatment plant to service the site.

Whanganui Port project manager Phil Wardale said they were prepared to further split stage one into separate portions to make it more attractive for locally based contractors.

“If anything, last week’s session provided some clarity on how this could be done, encouraging local contractors to put themselves forward to actively contribute to this landmark project,” he said.

Invitations to participate in the process close on February 20, with shortlisted parties invited to tender in early March.

Construction is expected to start in April, with the hardstand and runways to be completed as soon as possible for the arrival of Q-West’s hoist.

Further dialogue with participating businesses for stage two and later works to rebuild the adjoining wharves will then be held in April and May of this year.

For information on the tender process, companies were encouraged to register with the Government Electronic Tenders website (GETS) and search for Whanganui Port, or where required, contact Hannah Loper at hannah@wardale.co.nz to find out more.