Rotorua industrial park Peka under way with major earthworks completed

A new industrial park the size of 13 rugby fields is taking shape in Rotorua, with plans for it to become the “new home for heavy industry in the city”.

Stage one of the Peka Industrial Park between State Highway 30 and SH5 near the city’s southern entrance is under way with major earthworks completed and the road corridors defined, a Rotorua Lakes Council media release said.

Civil work began in June with sections due to be ready by July next year.

The council said the park was “well situated to serve businesses across the North Island” because it had easy access to state highways and the golden triangle of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga.

Stage one is the size of about 13 rugby fields and further stages will be developed as demand determines.

“In time this will become the new home for heavy industry in the city,” the council said.

Last year Local Democracy Reporting said infrastructure, including roading and connecting the site to stormwater, drinking water and wastewater networks for the first stage of the project and earthworks for stage two, was estimated to cost $20 million.

Work is well under way on stage one of the Peka Industrial Park with major earthworks completed. Photo / Rotorua Lakes Council

The project was kick-started by a $6 million Regional Strategic Partnership Fund loan.

The owner of the land is the Peka Trust, an ahu Māori trust formed when the land was returned by the Government in the early 1980s.

Upon taking back the land, the trust planted it in pine, which was harvested between 2018 and 2023.

Peka Trust chairwoman Helen Beckett said its vision was to create competitive production bases to serve the region’s economy, and to establish a highly efficient business community for the future prosperity and wellbeing of the owners of the land.

“Planning this development has been a major commitment for the trust. We started by recognising the importance of protecting the whenua and the wai, and developing an environment that can flourish in an industrial landscape.”

Beckett said the focus on the environment had driven the decision-making throughout.

“The trust has, separate to the development, committed to a major wetland mitigation and renewal programme throughout the whole property. The legacy for our mokopuna needs to be both cultural and financial.

“Once complete, the park will be a modern, industrial environment that will support some of the region’s key industries such as forestry, agriculture, wood processing and geothermal.”

‘It’s about creating employment opportunities

The council’s community and district development group manager, Jean-Paul Gaston, said the trust’s aspirations aligned with the council’s work to plan for and accommodate business growth in the next 30 years.

“We’ve talked a lot about needing residential developments, more houses for people, but we’re also going to need a lot more jobs in the future, and that means some local businesses are going to need to expand or we will need to attract new businesses to the district.”

Gaston said the city needed more appropriately zoned land suitable for all types of commercial and industrial activity.

“By investing in quality infrastructure we are contributing to the direct positive impacts of the development, it’s about creating employment opportunities and supporting the district’s overall economic development.”

The Peka Industrial Park is taking shape on Rotorua’s southern boundary. Photo / Rotorua Lakes Council

Stage one will generate 13ha of industrial land. Stage two of 7ha was partly included in the present earthworks because development could be extended into this area.

A further 70ha of industrial lands will be released in future stages, the timing of which would depend on the take-up of land through the initial stages.

The council said tenant interest had been strong, with negotiations going forward for more than half of stage one.

There had been interest in larger, bespoke industrial sections beyond stage one that could be accommodated.