Toll shelves plans to move ferry terminal from Picton

1.00pm

Toll NZ is believed to have shelved a proposal to move its interisland ferries from Picton to Clifford Bay.

Toll NZ chief executive David Jackson said today no final decision had been made on the proposal to shift the ferry terminal to Clifford Bay, 44km south of Blenheim.

However, the Independent today reported Toll managing director Paul Little from Melbourne as saying any move to Clifford Bay had been put to one side as the company focused on upgrading the Interisland Line's terminals at Picton and Wellington.

The Clifford Bay terminal plan, investigated by Tranz Rail, in which Toll bought an 84 per cent stake last year, was estimated to cost about $90 million.

It was looked at in 1997 but a decision on the plan was deferred in recent years as Tranz Rail focused on other matters such as its internal restructuring.

Port Marlborough has been talking with Toll NZ since November to try to secure a commitment from the Australian transport company to the Picton terminal.

Port Marlborough chief executive Sean Bolt said today he was surprised that Toll had made its intentions public at this stage as the agreement had not yet been signed with Port Marlborough.

Marlborough Regional Development Trust trustee Vern Harris said Toll's apparent decision was "probably good" for Picton in the short term.

"However, in the longer term it doesn't totally take away the uncertainty which has revolved around this issue for several years now," Mr Harris said.

The trust last year appointed consultants to study the impacts of any relocation to Clifford Bay but had delayed releasing the results of the report.

Awatere and Pacific Coast Promotions Group chairman Geoff Swift said today there had been huge support for the Clifford Bay proposal as it would have enhanced the region's tourism industry.

However, he said people in the district had heard many conflicting reports about the proposal during the past few years and learned not to count on anything.

Former Tranz Rail group general manager Thomas Davis said in December 2002 that as well as overseas companies, four New Zealand ports had expressed interest in the Clifford Bay terminal proposal.

The proposal was driven by a desire to cut the travelling time between Wellington and the South Island. Tranz Rail's revised 2002 plan included new, bigger and faster ships to enable it to reduce its existing fleet from three to two and to increase from six trips daily to eight.

- NZPA