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.
