Chamber Media release 24.10.19
The Realisation of Potential
Northland is a place of dreams, some big, some small and some recurring. The North has always had great potential to be even more than it is, the problem seems to be, that more often or not, potential has been crushed by primarily outside forces.
Northland remains ‘isolated’, in that the ‘concrete plug’ that is the Johnson Hills Tunnel, still restricts the flow of development to the North. Together with perhaps the rail and resulting potential expansion of our port, primary infrastructure must precede any real attempt at precipitating sustainable growth for us up here on Tai Tokerau Island.
There are some very notable projects taking very real shape, here are just a few:
- The Riverside Drive Hotel and Events Centre
- The Heart of Northland CBD redevelopment
- Marsden Waste Gasification Plant
- Ngawha Innovation and Enterprise Park
- Northport expansion plan
- Northern Rail upgrade
- Whangarei Marina expansion
- Hihiaua Cultural Centre
- Refining NZ Solar Energy Plant
The Riverside Drive Hotel and Events centre is approaching the culmination of the PGF funded feasibility study and looks very likely to proceed. The project offers itself as a powerful catalyst to further civic build projects and may even extend its remit to that of a multiuse event and performing arts venue, which could save the community tens of millions of dollars.
New Zealand, along with the rest of the World, faces a huge challenge in the disposal of its waste. The Marsden Waste Gasification Plant, is one of the leading process owners, to not only a solution for today and tomorrows waste but even that of yesterday (landfills can be excavated and processed). The plant takes a wide range of spoil and converts it into its component chemical parts ready for reuse. Interest in this project is very strong, from both NZ and foreign interests.
With the current bank interest rates at record lows, it stands to reason that there is a rapidly growing interest in projects of scale and relevance to our community, some of which may be open to smaller investors via various funds. Watch for these opportunities over the next few years.
