Pictures reveal true size of Ruakura Inland Port

Thursday, 6 July 2017

An artist's impression of the full Ruakura development planned by Tainui Group Holdings. The project includes an inland rail port, industrial warehousing and residential zones.

The Ruakura Inland Port, when complete, will stretch the length of Hamilton, from the start of Gordonton Road to Silverdale.

It will eventually cover an area larger than Auckland's CBD.

An indicative impression of the Ruakura project, in green, showing its size alongside Hamilton.

The 50-year project has been designated a 'project of national significance' by the Government, and Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) is planning more than a port.

Covering an area larger than the Auckland CBD, the Ruakura development will consume 485 hectares of land east of the city, from the Wairere Dr and Gordonton Rd intersection in the north, to Silverdale in the south.

Tainui Group Holdings has begun stage one of the development, building six hectares of the planned 31ha inland port.

* Tainui Group Holdings welcomes physical start on inland port

* Ruakura inland port gets crucial resource consents

* Earthworks to get underway at Ruakura inland port in Hamilton

* Tainui takes next step in $3b Ruakura inland port project**

At its widest, the development will stretch from Wairere Dr to the future Waikato Expressway, expected to be completed in December 2019.

The first to be built is the port, a 31-hectare hub running along the rail line, from which cargo will move into a logistics precinct on either side.

The entire port is planned to be completed by 2041 and should be capable of handling a million 6-metre containers a year.

Work on the first 6ha is under way and could open in early 2019.

An industrial park will be built either side of the port and its logistics warehouses will stretch from Silverdale in the south to just past Fairview Downs in the north.

State-of-the-art buildings are planned for the 262ha of industrial park.

A residential zone is planned from there to Greenhill Rd, just north of the Wairere Dr intersection.

TGH plans to fill 138 hectares with 1800 mixed-density homes. It will house 10,000 employees and 4500 residents by completion.

Three commercial shopping areas are also planned, one in the residential area, another in the south by the University of Waikato, and a third in the southern end of the logistics area.

TGH will also develop a 108ha 'learn precinct', wrapping around the Waikato Innovation Park.

The development is expected to take 50 years to complete, but chief executive Chris Joblin has expressed hope that strong regional growth might shorten this timeframe to 30 years.