The work includes new sheet piling and a rock revetment to secure the Whanganui River bank.
Erosion and contamination issues have forced a reshuffle at the Whanganui Port redevelopment project.
Renewing Wharf 3, originally scheduled to be completed last, will begin this month.
Port chairman Mark Petersen said there had been significant erosion of the Whanganui Riverbank in the area, with “concerns about contaminants leaching into the awa”.
“It’s a historic port that’s had a lot of industry over the years,” he said.
“Mostly, we are dealing with asbestos.
“To encapsulate it, we need it to be above mean high tide level, and we need to wrap it with asbestos-impermeable material.”
The work includes the demolition of the existing wharf structure, new sheet piling and a rock revetment to secure the riverbank.
A reinforced concrete wharf structure will then be built.
Petersen said the work at Wharf 3 had a budget of about $11m, and accelerating it would not increase the total project cost.
The Chronicle reported last November that the total budget of the port redevelopment was about $50m.
According to the Whanganui District Council’s draft annual plan, there is a rates requirement of $2.739m for the port in 2025/26.
“We recast the cost in 2023 and, depending on the tender for Wharf 2, we will be close to that number [$50m],” Petersen said.
“The unknown and the risk area for us is obviously the contamination, and whether that adds to the cost.
“We are doing everything we can to mitigate it.”
Renewing Wharf 2, originally stage two, would likely be completed by the end of next year, he said.
Negotiations were ongoing with a contractor.
“We are just doing a bit of work on design to make sure we have value for money and something that really works for the port,” he said.
“It will be a revetment-type wharf, very similar to Wharf 3 in terms of its look.
“There will be rock wall that breaks up wave action a bit.”
Stage one – a pavement hardstand and structures over the water to take Q-West Boat Builders’ mobile boat hoist – was nearing completion, Petersen said.
Concrete Structures, which won a $13.5m tender for that job in 2023, has poured 1000 cubic metres of concrete.
That company is also doing the work on Wharf 3.
Petersen said part of the stage one contract included a water treatment plant, which would be completed in mid-October, but Q-West’s mobile boat hoist was now on-site and certified.
“It’s an impressive piece of equipment, with not many competitors, especially in the lower North Island.
“Having the ability to lift heavy loads, 380 tonnes, is a real opportunity.”
Wharf 1 was upgraded in 2016, with the main client being Coastal Bulk Shipping’s MV Anatoki.
“At the moment they bring in grain, timber, all sorts of things,” Petersen said.
“Boat maintenance and boat building is really in Wharf 2 and Wharf 3 – the marine precinct.
“At the far end of Wharf 3, we are going through some early thinking about what we do for recreational boaties. That is another potential client base for us.”
Whanganui District Council is in charge of the port redevelopment.
The project comes under the umbrella of Te Pūwaha, a community- and hapū-led initiative revitalising the port and surrounding areas.
Other partners are Horizons Regional Council, Q-West Boat Builders, the Port Employment Precinct and the Government.
Te Pūwaha project director Hayden Turoa said the project group was committed to honouring Tupua te Kawa in every decision it made.
The Wharf 3 work was not just about infrastructure, but upholding the shared responsibility to the awa and ensuring the whenua and wai were protected for future generations, he said.
“We will see a modern marine precinct and community asset for the next 50 years, one in which Whanganui is retaining and creating high-value jobs in the marine, engineering and coastal freight sector.”
Petersen said the port had a property portfolio valued at about $25m, but quite a lot of it was “not income producing”.
“We’ve got blocks of land that are, basically, big areas of grass,” he said.
“Over time, we are looking at bringing that investment into supporting port activity.
“Providing facilities and opportunities for people who want to be involved has to be something we support.”
A Te Pūwaha spokesperson said the work at Wharf 3 would cause some disruption to recreational boat operators, as the Wharf St boat ramp would have to be closed from time to time to accommodate cranes working on the water’s edge.
Port general manager Geoff Evans said a plan was being made with the contractor “as the intention is to cause as little disruption as possible for boaties”.
“We are working with Coastguard Whanganui and the Whanganui Manawatū Sea Fishing Club to communicate updates, and we will have staff on-site to speak directly with boat operators and provide guidance.”
Petersen said he was not going to sugarcoat the fact that the port project was well behind its original timeframe.
It was meant to be completed in 2022 but various factors, including the outbreak of Covid-19, meant “we are where we are”, he said.
“We are now in a position where we have a good crew, and the right people doing the right jobs.
“It should be completed by the end of 2026.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.