6 March 2012

No port expansion plan on the table

The Auckland Plan will not lock in any specific expansion of the port, councillors agreed today.

Instead, Auckland Council will call for a major review of the port's ongoing needs and the future requirements for freight services across the upper North Island.

Councillors agreed that the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf were Auckland-defining assets that the Auckland Plan would seek to protect and enhance.

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, said that the Auckland Plan will continue to provide for the long-term needs of the port and Auckland International Airport, in "an appropriate and environmentally sustainable manner to support New Zealand's international freight, trading competitiveness and visitor industry."

"We have listened to the community and taken their concerns on board. People are not anti-port and understand it is the city's most important economic asset. It has a place in Auckland's future but it must be compatible with the city's overarching social, economic and environmental aspirations."

"People can be assured that currently there are no plans on the table to expand the port beyond its present footprint," the Deputy Mayor added.

ENDS

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