Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour Project to End

The Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour Project will not go ahead, following a joint decision by its key stakeholders to dissolve the initiative after it was found to no longer align with the original vision.

The Limited Partners - Whakatāne District Council, Te Rāhui Lands Limited Partnership, and Crown Regional Holdings Limited, unanimously agreed to unwind the project after a recent rescoping significantly altered its scope and reduced expected benefits.

Board Chair of Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Whakatāne Limited, John Rae, confirmed the decision was made after assessing several substantial changes to the project. These included a marked reduction in land remediation, scaling back or removing key elements such as a marine training facility, a dedicated offloading wharf, and a smaller number of berths and hardstand area.

"The decision to not proceed with the project was made on the basis of concerns with a number of changes necessitated by the project rescope, including the significant reduction in size of the land remediation component; substantial changes to the broader project scope - such as the removal or reduction of the marine training facility, the reduced number of berths, the size of the hardstand and removal of the dedicated offloading wharf - and the diminished economic and community benefits that underpinned the original business case." Rae said.

Further complicating the project were ongoing risks, including the lack of a confirmed disposal site and resource consent for contaminated materials, as well as concerns about cost escalations and potential delays.

With no additional funding available beyond what had already been committed, the Limited Partners concluded that the project could not meet its original aspirations.

The Board will now begin dissolving the legal partnership and terminating all project-related arrangements.