Calder Stewart is working on what it has labelled the Milburn Quadrant development.
The first stage had been completed, Calder Stewart property associate director Ben Stewart said.
"Calder Stewart has already rezoned 200ha of land and is privately funding the development, so the project is moving ahead independently of public processes," he said.
"What sets Milburn apart is that it is prime, flat industrial land with the scale to function as a genuine intermodal freight hub and destination for large-scale industrial activity."
The comments follow confirmation of a proposed inland port near Mosgiel being accepted for a fast-tracked consenting process.
The Southern Link logistics hub in North Taieri is a 50:50 joint venture between Port Otago’s Chalmers Property company and Dynes Transport Tapanui.
Mr Stewart said the location of the Milburn Quadrant was strategically important, linking Central Otago and Southland to the rest of New Zealand and global export markets "while at the same time reducing more than 10,000 heavy truck movements that would otherwise travel north through Mosgiel".
"The site already has direct access to State Highway 1 and existing rail infrastructure, meaning it avoids the need for public spending on costly bypasses or traffic management around urban areas."
Clutha District Mayor Bryan Cadogan said the two projects were not intended to be in competition.
"They were never ever meant to be rivals and never should be rivals and I was in awe at the transparency and forthrightness of Calder Stewart when they laid their plans out," he said.
Dunedin mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms said he was at a loss as to why city council infrastructure services committee chairman Cr Jim O’Malley championed the Milburn location.
"This will take jobs and opportunities away from Dunedin," Mr Simms said.
"This is particularly confusing as there is a real risk that freight received at Milburn might be sent to Lyttelton," he said.
Cr O’Malley said in May the Milburn site was "exactly the right place".
"I think it will be a really big boon to both the Clutha district and the Dunedin city when it’s built."
Mr Stewart described Milburn as "port and operator agnostic".
"In practice, most exporters don’t just use one port or one shipping line," he said.
"The combined freight volumes from Awarua [in Southland] and Milburn will potentially be well beyond what a single port could comfortably handle on its own," Mr Stewart said.
Having the ability to stage containers inland and then move them by rail to whichever South Island port lined up best with shipping schedules meant exporters could keep product moving, ports did not get clogged and vessels could be met reliably, he said.
"We are already in early-stage commercial discussions with several significant parties, which reinforces our view that Milburn will play an important role in meeting the South Island’s future freight and industrial capacity needs."
