November 01, 2022
Tainui inland port simplifies supply chain
The chief executive of Tainui Group Holdings says the new inland port at Ruakura will create more efficient supply chains throughout the North Island.
The first stage of the 490 hectare hub on Hamilton’s eastern fringe is open for business after 16 years of planning and infrastructure development.
It sits between the new Waikato Expressway and the east coast main trunk rail line between Tauranga and Auckland.
Chris Joblin says as well as the port run in a joint venture with Port of Tauranga, there are new bases for transport firms, warehouses and coolstores, with a mix of residential, retail and services still to come.
Instead of the current inefficient model of imports coming in to Auckland and exports going out of Tauranga, the supply chains will come together.”An import container could come in carrying food, jeans, t-shirts, tvs and the like. Tt gets unloaded and then gets distributed from Ruakura to the rest of the country. That container then goes to the building next door and gets loaded up with meat, milk, export products. It’s back on the train and then back to por. That creates huge efficiency,” Mr Joblin says.
The inland port could take 65,000 truck movements off the road every year, with a significant reduction in emissions.