Next steps for Ōpōtiki’s Harbour Project

For immediate release: 13 September 2013

The recent decision by Bay of Plenty Regional Council to commit $18million to Ōpōtiki’s Harbour Redevelopment project reflects strong regional support for the project and the benefits it will bring to the wider Bay of Plenty. The Regional Infrastructure Funding (RIF) decision secures almost half the funding needed to complete the venture and work to secure the other half is already well underway.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) committed $18million of Infrastructure Funding to the Ōpōtiki Harbour Redevelopment Project – a project to build twin groynes and associated works, creating a year-round navigable harbour entrance at Ōpōtiki. The project is an enabling project for Whakatōhea’s aquaculture proposal and other marine activities.

Ōpōtiki District Council (ODC) Chief Executive, Aileen Lawrie said “this pledge of $18million is a massive step forward for the project and provides both financial backing and a very clear indication of regional support for the project. From here, we take both the promise of funding and the Regional Council’s endorsement to Wellington to bolster our application for central government funding to match.”

The grants that have been made available to all successful RIF applications are subject to a number of contractual obligations which will be built into a Heads of Agreement between the organisations to ensure that public money is allocated carefully. Funding will be provided when all conditions are met.

Broadly, in the case of Ōpōtiki’s funding, these conditions are: that funding is also provided by central government for the proposal; that there is viable commercial commitment in Whakatōhea’s Aquaculture project; and some general conditions around project governance and management.

“The joint Ōpōtiki Marine Farm and Harbour Redevelopment projects are significant locally, regionally and nationally. They will contribute significantly to GDP (conservatively estimated at $41million-$55million) and create 320 to 450 full time equivalent jobs. These are the sort of ideas that we are taking to Wellington and we have already started to get some great support at a national level for the project.

“We are confident that these conditions are nothing more stringent than the conditions that we have put on ourselves, and we are committed to seeing the project through to its exciting conclusion,” Ms Lawrie said.

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