An artist's impression of the New Zealand Institute for Marine Futures that will be built at Tauranga’s Sulphur Point. Image / Supplied
A marine research facility to be built in Tauranga will be “unique” in the world, a key player says.
Concept plans for the New Zealand Institute for Marine Futures, to be built at Tauranga’s Sulphur Point, were presented at a Tauranga City Council meeting on Tuesday.
The University of Waikato will build the facility on land at Marine Park leased from the council for 99 years, with a lease cost of $1.4 million.
The new facility will replace the university’s Coastal Marine Field Station and include research laboratories, aquaculture farming, classrooms and public engagement spaces.
University deputy vice-chancellor Alister Jones said the facility was a world-class solution for public engagement and building marine research capability.
The current facility could not cope with demand for public engagement, commercial research or the university’s fundamental research, he said.
“This facility is absolutely vital for us to continue our work both environmentally, in terms of aquaculture, in terms of supporting the region, as well as public engagement and supporting the port.
“This would be the only facility in the world which brings together both the research and the public engagement in an aquaria where fundamental research is also ongoing in real time.”
The university had “copped a little bit of flak” on social media for calling it the New Zealand Institute for Marine Futures, Jones said.
It did not call it the Tauranga institute because the work being done would be of national significance, he said.
Feedback from the community, iwi and council had been incorporated into the two-storey design, Jones said.
This included waka hourua (traditional canoe) concepts.
It was designed by US architects ehdd, which was involved with the Kansas City Zoo Aquarium, and New Zealand architects Chow Hill.
The university’s Tauranga director of science, Chris Battershill, said it was a “unique entity globally”.
“Never before has there been such planned engagement with the public interfacing with students and researchers in real time.”
People would be able to see experiments happening and it would be different every day, he said.
“The whole idea is to bring the sea, which most people can’t normally see down into, up, so it’s right there in your face and you can see what’s happening right outside our doorstep.”
When the university cut up a shark, hundreds of people watched, so there would be a demonstration deck outside to cater for this, Battershill said.
Councillor Glen Crowther asked if the university would request a publicly notified resource consent given opposition to the project from a “significant number of people” and a petition that circulated.
The “Save Marine Park” petition in 2023 opposed the loss of green space that would occur from the facility.
Jones said there was a public notification process on many of the things the university had to do.
There was “very strong support” from the community when the facility was initially proposed and it would not have gone ahead if the majority opposed it, he said.
There was also “wide consultation” on the land reclassification that enabled the university to lease 7000sq m at Marine Park.
Jones said he was happy to meet with people to discuss what was proposed for the facility, which the university had been working on for 14 years.
The university needed to work with the city council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council on the consent process, he said.
Councillor Rick Curach said the public offering helped offset the loss of “precious green space”.
He was not opposed to the facility, which would be an asset to the community, but the location.
Councillor Rod Taylor said the project would put Tauranga on the map locally and internationally.
“The work that will come out of there will sustain our economy going into the future.”
Councillor Marten Rozeboom said Sulphur Point has not always existed, because it is reclaimed land.
“It’s a testament to what the people of Tauranga can do when we put our minds to things.”
The facility would provide an opportunity for young people to stay in Tauranga, learn and earn an income, he said.
“We don’t have enough facilities for our young people to engage in research, both in the scientific and engineering space, and this will give us that.”
It also provided opportunities for the world to come to Tauranga and learn from the marine environment, Rozeboom said.
The council voted to receive the concept designs. Curach voted against it and Crowther abstained.
Jones told Local Democracy Reporting that Sulphur Point was identified as the best site and the lease covered 6% of Marine Park.
The next step for the project was the detailed design, he said.
“We don’t have a detailed cost estimate as this work hasn’t been completed yet.”
The university had begun fundraising for the facility and was pursuing philanthropic, regional and national funding support.
“The facility has the potential to strengthen the region’s marine resilience and boost economic development through aquaculture and other research projects,” Jones said.
Construction was expected to start in 2028.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.