The port company hopes the go-ahead will be given to the multimillion-dollar inland port project by the middle of the year with construction to start soon after.
An application has been made through the fast track process for the Southern Link Inland Port proposal and more information is being sought by authorities.
The inland port is a 50/50 joint venture between Port Otago-owned Chalmers Property and Dynes Transport Tapanui, presented as a logistics solution for the lower South Island’s exporters and importers.
Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said the company owned land on the other side of the road from where the inland port would be located and it had started developing a storage facility.
The land was zoned industrial and it was straightforward to use it to store containers and other freight.
A pad and other equipment were being built and there would be room for about 350 containers.
One of the main selling points for the inland port was there was not much suitable land left in the Dunedin area and the land earmarked for the inland port was flat and could cater for incoming and outgoing freight.
Mr Winders said work was continuing on the inland port application and he hoped to have all information gathered in the next couple of weeks.
The application was accepted for referral in late August last year with a request for all information for a substantive application from the two shareholders. No panel or timeline had been announced for the project.
He was hopeful of a short timeframe with a decision possible in the winter.
‘‘We’ve have had some straightforward ones which have just taken 40 days while others which seem to be a bit more complicated, like the Santana Minerals one, are 140 days,’’ he said.
‘‘But hopefully we can get this done by June, July, August and we can start getting going. So, this time next year, we will be spending some money in this community and really get this humming.’’
The initial application said the inland port would have a rail siding to enable a rail freight shuttle service to Port Chalmers and the wider rail network, up to 80,000sqm of high-stud warehousing, a truck canopy and unloading area, a 5ha container depot facility, up to 5ha of storage of full containers including up to 1500 refrigerated container charging ports and break-bulk storage facilities.
It would deliver significant economic benefits in the Otago region, including regional investment of up to $100million, the creation of over 550 construction jobs and 55 ongoing roles, improve freight efficiency and logistics, reduce road maintenance costs, strengthen supply chain resilience, and enhance productivity.
