Icepak drives creation of 'inland port'

INSHORE PORT: Demolition of the former Longburn freezing works is clearing the way for an inland port and a Wanganui company is a key player. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A Wanganui company has played a prime role in the creation of an inland port in the Manawatu linking the region's industries directly to export ports.

Icepak NZ, which has its headquarters in Castlecliff, has entered into a joint venture with Ports of Auckland and Napier Port in the first stage of a $20 million investment at the former meat works site in Longburn outside Palmerston North.

Icepak bought the 9ha property some years ago and has retained the coolstore buildings while demolishing the former works.

Icepak general manager Sara Ross said the inland port and hub project had been in the planning stages for the past 12 months, and would provide new storage and job opportunities as well as stimulating growth across the Wanganui-Manawatu region.

The inland port is essentially a facility where freight is collected and stored before being transported to ships. It also acts as a distribution point for imported freight to be sent throughout central New Zealand.

Ms Ross said the creation of the Longburn hub signalled "exciting times".

"We had the facility at Longburn and we've been operating it predominantly as a cold store over that time."

Icepak had floated the inland port proposal to Fonterra and had followed that with talks involving Auckland and Napier port companies.

"I've been working with Ports of Auckland for about six months and finally convinced them this was a good option, especially providing a link to the lower North Island.

"Auckland is a big import port but it wants to focus on export traffic.

"Customers will be able to put their product into Longburn and it will be railed directly to Wiri and then trucked to Auckland's waterfront.

"There will be obvious advantages for customers in terms of cost savings."

But Ms Ross said the hub would not direct product solely to Auckland and Napier. It would direct it to whatever port the customer wanted.

Icepak specialises in cold storage for meat, dairy products, pharmaceuticals and field crops and has EU and US export licences to process pet food. Its Gilberd St plant is one of six stores, with the others at Longburn, Otaki, Fielding and two near Matamata.

The news of the hub follows the recent announcements around the regional agri-business growth strategy, which is a collaboration of all eight councils across the broader region.

Its target is to double agri-business exports from $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion annually by 2025.

Tony Gibson, chief executive officer of Ports of Auckland, said while imports from his port went to regional centres, there was an under-utilised freight capacity on the return leg but the new hub would allow them to overcome that.

Napier Port chief Grant Cowie said the inland port was a natural extension of his port's coverage and brought major advantages to local producers.

Ms Ross said site clearance at Longburn was well under way and work will start soon on a docking facilities to complement the existing cold store on site. A container yard and container wash facility, to prepare containers to export ready standard, will also be built.

The site works should be completed in December this year.

She said it connects to the North Island main rail trunk line and all parties were talking to KiwiRail to finalise details around what is expected to be a "significant increase in the volume of rail freight".