NEW Zealand’s Port Nelson has announced its logistics division QuayConnect will develop an inland port in the Marlborough region.
The development is part of Port Nelson’s wider supply chain strategy to build efficiency for the region’s importers and exporters, and enhanced opportunity for competition in the global market.
The initial phase of the inland port’s development will take place on a 1.4-hectare site at Riverlands on the South Island, with 2.6 adjacent hectares reserved for future development.
As Marlborough is a wine region, the inland port will be positioned adjacent to New Zealand’s largest wine bottler, enabling the transfer of stock to and from the bottling plant and the use of electric tugs to reduce emissions.
Marlborough Inland Port will be designed to contain 5000 square metres of warehousing for storage and packing and a facility for container operations.
In addition to its container storage capacity, it will include facilities for tanker and tank container wash and repairs.
“Marlborough importers and exporters will be better served with a facility on their doorstep offering container and product storage and warehousing connected to an established logistics service,” QuayConnect general manager Jaron McLeod said.
Central Express (CEL), a key transport partner to both QuayConnect and the wider Marlborough wine industry, will be a tenant at the inland port facility.
CEL managing director Jason Millar said the opportunity to build Marlborough Inland Port is especially important in an ever-changing environment.
“It will provide connectivity and add resilience to supply chains, giving confidence to exporters in the top of the south,” he said.
Port Nelson expects the facility to be completed by the end of 2023.
