Port Otago's $3 million oil
wharf strengthening project, in the upper harbour basin, is
nearing completion, albeit several months behind schedule.
Work began in April last year for contractors, who have been
installing nine concrete seabed foundations along the 215m
wharf, which will boost the ageing structure's lifespan by 25
years.
Port Otago general manager of infrastructure Lincoln Coe had
earlier estimated the job would be completed by October, but
said yesterday the first two foundations had taken longer
than expected, pushing out the completion date.
While overdue, the project was still within the $3 million
budget. The contractors were expecting to finish and
dismantle their cranes towards the end of March, he said.
The wharf, which was built in the 1960s, hosts about 32
tankers each year, mainly from the Marsden Point oil
refinery, carrying petroleum products.
The wharf is generally used to discharge bitumen, petrol,
diesel, aviation fuel, heavy fuel oil for marine vessels,
light fuel oil and marine diesel, and vessels are connected
to fixed shore-side pipelines using a single flexible
pipeline.
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