-As published by SunLive, 22 March 2022.

Construction in Ōpōtiki of one of the largest pieces of non-roading infrastructure seen in New Zealand in decades has now reached the halfway mark.

The Bay of Plenty town’s Mayor, Lyn Riesterer, is describing progress as “outstanding”.

Two years ago this week, the government announced that Ōpōtiki’s funding bid for an ambitious Harbour Development Project had been successful and would be supported by Kānoa - RDU, the government’s regional economic development and investment unit.

The $100 million redevelopment will re-establish the Ōpōtiki harbour, build two training walls and open a new harbour entrance while closing the existing one.

When completed, it will bring many benefits to the town, including helping the region’s aquaculture industry develop even further.

Ōpōtiki Mayor, Lyn Riesterer, says the successful funding bid was the result of decades of hard work to make the town’s vision reality.

“I think we often get used to waiting for things in government land and Ōpōtiki is very good at waiting. We waited and worked for more than 20 years for this! But when we said we were ‘shovel ready’, we meant it.

“You can see just how fast we have built these huge seawalls. They are already out past the breakers and are over the halfway mark. You now start to get an indication of the size and scale of our project.

“The success with the harbour is a testament to the current council and many years of councils, councillors, and of course my predecessor as mayor John Forbes who drove this passion for decades.

“It is also a tribute to what can be achieved through genuine partnership – with iwi, with government and with the regional council which was willing to put funding in the game early on in this process.”

Lyn says the investment is already helping Ōpōtiki and its people.

“As the mayor, I get a unique view of progress on this project – I can celebrate the technical milestones and the build of the infrastructure. But I can also see the social and economic changes it is already bringing to the community.

“In conjunction with our sister development, Whakatōhea’s aquaculture industry, we have hundreds of new jobs here in town. I often hear from people who are coming home and new people who are taking opportunities and deciding to move here.

“Our benefits aren’t just measured in rocks and hanbars - they are measured in growth, positive social change and new opportunities.”

Measuring the rocks and hanbars

John Galbraith is the Project Director. He said the project will re-establish the Ōpōtiki harbour.

“Ōpōtiki has a long history with its port. It provided a strong base for trading and enterprise that was the backbone of Ōpōtiki’s prosperous past. This project will improve navigability and safety for a range of vessels, particularly those associated with the operational marine farm located offshore from Ōpōtiki,” says John.

“Within months of the announcement that the project had been approved, we had contracts in place for construction and rock supply, work had started on access roads and hanbar manufacturing was underway.

“Hanbars are heavy concrete structures which protect the harbour’s rock structure from waves and scouring. The moulds and the concrete for the hanbars are all being made locally by two hard-working businesses.

“We now have three large cranes and numerous other pieces of machinery on site building the walls and carrying out ground compaction works. The sea walls are now at 60% of their final length and they’ll be completed by the end of this year.

“From there, we’ll start slowly opening the new harbour entrance at the same time we close the existing one, with the river flowing fully between the new seawalls by the second half of 2023.

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