Rev up for export supply chain with NZ's biggest cold store build about to start

A bird's-eye view of Ruakura Superhub's latest NZ first, Maersk's advanced tech export cold store. Image / Supplied

New Zealand's biggest cold store will start rising at Ruakura from next month as global container shipping and logistics giant Maersk makes its debut as a cold supply chain facility provider in New Zealand.

The 18,000sq m facility at Hamilton's vast new Ruakura Superhub will include the latest environmentally sustainable refrigeration technology in the shape of a full CO2 refrigeration system, one of the largest in the world.

The building will also feature one of New Zealand's biggest solar panel arrays with roof panels covering more than 1 hectare, specific dehumidification to reduce moisture and a controls system providing a level of management, rarely seen before, if ever, in New Zealand, said lead facility designer and builder Apollo Projects.

Paul Lloyd, director and joint chief executive of the New Zealand cold store specialist said Maersk wanted to make a world-class facility in environmentally efficient design and construction and the goal was to achieve a six-star Green Star rating, with technology not seen before in this country.

The facility will have charging capability for trucks, cars, bikes and scooters, and 200,000 litre storage for the capture and reuse of rainwater.

Site work starts in early August with the facility due to be handed over to Denmark-based Maersk in two stages from late next year to early 2024. It will provide for national and international supply chains.

Maersk has a long-term ground lease of 4.5ha with Ruakura Superhub developer and owner Tainui Group Holdings, the commercial arm of Waikato-Tainui. The hub, and the Maersk site, is adjacent to the emerging Ruakura inland port, a joint development between TGH and New Zealand's biggest export gateway Port of Tauranga.

Apollo's Lloyd said installation of the CO2 refrigeration system reflected the industry's trend from synthetic to natural refrigerants. The newness of the technology for installations of the Maersk size had required an international peer review to ensure its New Zealand design was high performance.

The scale of the project came with challenges, the most immediate being the current rain, Lloyd said. Procuring materials and products was also challenging in the current supply chain environment as was labour, but an early partnership with Maersk had enabled early procurement of the construction requirements needed to mitigate time and cost issues.