Vandalism, theft hit rocks stockpiled for repair of Whanganui's North Mole

Rocks for use in the Te Pūwaha port project being unloaded. Photo / Bevan Conley

Armour rocks are being stacked up in a Morgan St yard, ready for the repair of Whanganui's North Mole.

The repair is Horizons Regional Council's part of the $50 million Te Pūwaha project to revitalise Whanganui's port, and there have been security concerns at the Castlecliff storage site, a spokeswoman said.

The yard's entry gates have been stolen and its fence damaged, and fuel and batteries have been stolen from an excavator at the site. People seeing inappropriate behaviour there are asked to ring the police or contact Horizons on 0508 800 800.

The first rocks brought to the site are the smallest of four sizes that will be used in the mole repair. They are volcanic andesite from a consented quarry inland from Ōpunake.

Later, similar rocks will arrive from a consented quarry north of Raetihi. The contract to supply them went to Mills-Albert Ltd, a Kāpiti forestry and construction business, working with Byfords Construction, Loaders, and River City Tree Services.

Horizons has yet to give itself consent for the repair project.

The contract to rebuild the mole is out for tender, which closes on November 8. The tenders will be assessed on whether they uphold tupua te kawa (the values of the Whanganui River settlement), as well as on price, social procurement, project management ability, resources and track record.

The tender is to be awarded by the end of November, and construction is to begin in December. It is set to finish in October next year.