Port Otago's Project Next Generation resource consents should be granted, subject to conditions, the Otago Regional Council's staff report says.
More than 100 submissions on Port Otago's consent applications to dredge Otago Harbour will be heard over three weeks in Dunedin next month.
On the eve of Port Otago beginning its three-week resource consent application to widen and deepen 13km of the shipping channel, Senior Reporters Simon Hartley and Rebecca Fox recap the issues, submissions and process about to get under way.
Shipping giant Maersk is backing Port Otago's more than $100 million proposal to widen and deepen shipping lanes into Port Chalmers for larger ships, but has reiterated it can give no assurances on future services.
An Otago surf club is delighted after four of the region's surf spots were named as nationally significant in a coastal policy released yesterday.
The full details of whether the proposed merger between Port Otago and Lyttelton Port of Christchurch was viable are unlikely ever to be divulged, other than it would have cost Port Otago's 100% owner the Otago Regional Council tens of millions of dollars to buy into the partnership.
When, in August this year, the "Port Performance and Ownership" report prepared by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research for the Local Government Forum was published, it drew some controversy for suggesting local authority ownership of ports should be abandoned in favour of commercial shareholdings as a way to encourage efficiencies and more beneficial port-to-port relationships.
The Lyttelton Port Company has ended merger talks with Port Otago - just weeks before the two boards were to consider a proposal - so it can focus on repairing damage after last month's earthquake.
Merger talks between the ports of Lyttelton and Otago have been halted as a result of damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake.
Continued dredging of Otago Harbour will make an impact on its health but as it is a heavily modified harbour, it is a question of what the community can live with, University of Otago marine science Associate Professor Abby Smith says.
The consent hearing for Port Otago's Project Next Generation harbour-dredging application may be put on hold for up to six months because of the number of submissions to the application.
The proposed merger between Port Otago and rival Lyttelton Port of Christchurch is being roundly criticised by former port company chairmen Sir Clifford Skeggs and Ian Farquhar, with both men calling for the idea to scrapped.
Opposition to Port Otago's plan to dredge the Otago Harbour channel and dump 7.2 million cu m of sand and silt 6.5km beyond Taiaroa Head is emerging, with a public meeting on Monday to increase public awareness of the issue.
Public submissions on Port Otago's proposed widening and deepening of the lower harbour, covering about 13km of channel from Port Chalmers to salt marshes opposite Taiaroa Head, close on Friday.
For 33 years, Paceco No 1 crane has towered over Port Chalmers, defiantly standing up to an assault of wind, rain and salt air to load and unload shipping containers for Port Otago.
When Dunedin ground lease rents come up for review, especially in the general harbour area with its commercial or industrial zoning, much of the land remains historically held by Port Otago.
Ground lease land rental charges around Dunedin have escalated by as much as 300% in recent years, at a time when some industrial land sales have ranged from $250 per sq metre to an eye-watering $800 per sq m.
The implications of Port Otago's next generation plans are bringing the Careys Bay Association out of recess.
A leaked document revealing Port Lyttelton plans to introduce a $5 passenger tax for every cruise ship passenger, could have major repercussions for the fast-growing industry.
Port Otago has lodged a resource consent application with the Otago Regional Council for its proposed "next generation" $100 million channel deepening project.
