Questions swirl around ageing ports as Govt mulls new ferries

While the Government is working urgently on a new plan to replace the ageing Cook Strait ferries, there's big questions about the portside infrastructure in both Wellington and Picton.

Since KiwiRail's iRex plan for mega ferries was scrapped six months ago much of the work that was underway to prepare for the ferries has been halted.

In December it was estimated $400 million was spent on the project before it was axed by the Government – around $276 million was spent in Picton and Wellington on portside infrastructure.

Port Marlborough chief executive Rhys Welbourn said the old Interislander terminal was built in the 1960s and is currently being taken apart piece by piece.

"The position of it is right on the foreshore so it was needed to be demolished for any new works to happen on the water side," he said.

But there's other parts of Picton that remain in limbo with some roads – where construction had been underway – still closed.

One of Picton's main wharfs was originally meant to be demolished by as early as next year.

"So now that it has an extended life, we've now done some additional repairs and maintenance to it just to ensure that it can take through to the end of at least the current contract," Welbourn said.

That will get it through until 2029 but more certainty is needed.

"It's really important that we move to the next stage of development."

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter said the Wellington site was challenging due to its small size and location on a fault line. What's there currently also dates back to the 1960s.

"The portside infrastructure has effectively been sweated to death. It is now at the end of its life or very soon to be at the end of its life," Ponter said.

The future of the Wellington and Picton ports will rest on the size of the new ferries.

As 1News revealed last month, the independent advisory group has recommended the Government buy brand new ships, similar in size to the current ships. It also recommended they not be rail enabled. If Cabinet agrees it would make things much more straightforward.

"A lot rests on the size of the ferry because the size of the ferry determines how much space, how much car parking space, how much terminal facility that you need on the landside operations," Ponter said.

Government ministers have said they are working on a Plan B for the Cook Strait ferries urgently but haven't given a timeframe on when announcements will be made.

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