West Coast Forest Industry and Wood Availability Forecast - June 2008
7 Infrastructure
Road transport
State highway and local authority roads are generally adequate for use by loaded logging trucks.
Road routes to Canterbury are State Highway 73 through Arthur’s Pass or State Highway 7 through the Lewis Pass. It is 247 kilometres from Greymouth to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass, and 334 kilometres via the Lewis Pass.
The road route from Greymouth to Nelson on State Highway 6 is 290 kilometres.
Rail transport
Rail is an important method of freighting produce to other regions. The West Coast connects to the national rail network operated by Toll NZ via the Midland line through the Otira tunnel at Arthur’s Pass. The line goes to Ngakawau (beyond Westport) in the north and to Hokitika in the south. There is no rail link to Nelson.
The rail siding at Stillwater has a log yard that is used to distribute logs for export via Lyttelton.
Sea transport
The region has no deepwater ports, but has river mouth ports at Greymouth and Westport. Historically both have handled coal and timber and, for Westport, cement.
Port of Westport
The Port of Westport is owned by the Buller District Council and managed under contract by Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd., the principal port user, through their subsidiary company Buller Port Services Ltd. Vessels up to 131 metres long and 5 metres average draft can be handled, with large vessels considered as each case is presented.
The port has a tug/pilot vessel and a dredge. There is one electric travelling crane with a 12.2 tonne lift and a 17-metre radius, and mobile cranes are available. A merchandise shed has a storage area of approximately 3500 cubic metres and there is a flat storage area of two hectares. The port is served by road and rail transport.
Coastal services from Port of Westport transporting wood products for transhipment from major export ports such as Port Nelson, Shakespeare Bay and Port Taranaki have potential to be developed. (www.westportharbour.co.nz)
Port of Greymouth
The Port of Greymouth is owned by the Grey District Council and currently managed by Port of Greymouth Management Ltd. The port is able to handle vessels of up to 109 metres length overall, and drafts of up to 4.8 metres (neap tides) or 5.5 metres (spring tides). This equates to ships or barges up to 8000 tonnes capacity. The port is served by road transport, with the railway one kilometre away.
Current storage facilities provide for about 1000 cubic metres in cargo sheds and 5000 cubic metres alongside the wharf. Cargo can be loaded by two wharf cranes of
12-tonne lift capacity each, by additional hired mobile cranes, or by ships’ cranes.
Sawn indigenous timber was a traditional export to Australia until the 1950s and to the North Island until the 1970s. Shipments of processed plantation grown timber products were made directly to Australia in 2000. The Government’s “SeaChange Policy” to encourage coastal shipping could lead to the establishment of coastal shipping services. (www.greymouthport.co.nz/)
Energy
Plans are in place to ensure electricity capacity is sufficient to meet the growing needs of the West Coast. Transpower is reinforcing its supply, Westpower and Buller Electricity are extending their networks, and TrustPower is planning new generation.
Transpower supplies electricity to Westpower and Buller Electricity. TrustPower operates small generation stations at the Arnold River, Kumara, Kaniere and Wahapo, which are embedded in Westpower’s network.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
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