The long awaited dredging of the Tauranga Harbor shipping channels is about to begin.
Danish dredging company, Rohde Nielsen, the successful tenderer for the project, will start dredging operations in the area during the next week.
Port of Tauranga will widen and deepen the shipping channels from 12.9 meters to 14.5 meters inside the harbor and 15.8 meters outside the harbor.
The dredging work represents the final building block in the Port’s five year $350 million capital expenditure program in executing a strategy for the port to become a big ship capable hub port and facilitate for the exporters and importers the blue water savings provided by larger, more efficient vessels.
The first of the two trailer suction hopper dredges, Brage R, arrived earlier this month. This is the smaller of the two vessels and she will start work on the channel widening. The larger of the dredging vessels, Balder R, is expected later in the year.
A blessing ceremony was held this morning on the Mount Maunganui Wharf with representatives from local iwi.
The completion of this dredging scheme is scheduled for August 2016.
[mappress mapid=”21225″]