28 | Central NZ distribution hub planned With an $8 billion pipeline of infrastructure and investment continuing for the next six to eight years – along with new projects in energy, utilities, logistics and healthcare – the outlook ahead is a positive. T T from page 26 Manawatu Regional Development REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Palmerston North and Manawatū is pivoting to be a leader in transport and logistics in the Central North Island via a farsighted local development, Te Utanganui – the Central New Zealand Distribution hub. Masterplanned for implementation in three stages, Te Utanganui integrates road, rail and air infrastructure and provides a logistics and transport nexus in an industrial zone next to Palmerston North Airport, and the Manawatū Business Park. “Te Utanganui offers direct access for exporters and importers to and from all the major international shipping ports, as well as air access to Christchurch and Auckland,” says Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith. “ For transport operators, Te Utanganui’s warehouses are a day’s return road trip to virtually the whole of the lower North Island.” Tying into this hub, the Airport Company’s Ruapehu Aeropark is fast developing as a peak business location for freight and logistics, aviation training, retail and light industrial businesses. As well, Palmerston North Airport has an aspirational masterplan that includes a new passenger terminal and other airfreight warehousing and emergency services improvements. The Council will also be working in with KiwiRail’s proposed new freight hub at Bunnythorpe, with further rail projects in the pipeline over the coming decade. A regional freight ring road has been proposed to unlock the full potential of Te Utanganui, but it is not yet high on the list of regional or NZTA roading priorities. Mayor Smith is seeking some real traction on this issue, noting also that Palmerston North’s large regional hospital is sitting on a lengthy waiting list for promised upgrades. “Palmerston North deserves better,” he says, noting that the city has had little to no targeted central government investment in the last decade and centrally imposed mandates have been driving up costs at the local level. “Rather than just blaming local government for shortcomings, central government needs to work alongside councils in an ‘all of government’ partnership for the benefits of residents and businesses.” New Zealand’s ‘Food Innovation City’ Palmerston North is home to Massey University and three Crown Research Institutes and has the largest pilot scale food processing equipment in the southern hemisphere. Private and public partnerships are driving innovation and supporting development of high value agri-food systems. “We will also be looking at attaining UNESCO City of Cuisine status to help join ‘the food chain dots’,” says Mayor Smith. In June, the city will host a major multi-day agri-food conference called E Tipu Boma NZ Agri Summit that will further boost the city’s reputation as a centre for primary production, food science and research. Palmerston North is making use of its international connections through Massey University, UCOL Polytechnic, IPU New Zealand Tertiary Institute, research institutes, local businesses and resident migrants to build global opportunities and relationships in agriculture, science and food innovation, and education. A recent sister city delegation to China and Japan has opened up potential for collaboration between the food tech and agritech sectors of Kunshan City and Palmerston North. Kunshan is also internationally recognised for its ‘sponge city’ water projects developed to mitigate impacts of flooding and urban runoff – food for thought for Palmerston North’s Nature Calls project that is exploring options for managing wastewater over the next 30 to 50 years. “Te Utanganui offers direct access for exporters and importers to and from all the major international shipping ports, as well as air access to Christchurch and Auckland.” Grant Smith Te Utanganui integrates road, rail and air infrastructure and provides a logistics and transport nexus in an industrial zone next to t Palmerston North Airport and Manawatū Business Park. “We’ll be spending in excess of $1.1 billion over the next 10 years on water plants, projects and services and need a robust business plan and consent along with a funding model for the city’s new waste or resource water plant.” Palmerston North has also recently forged opportunities for local high school students to study at Hiroshima Global Academy in Japan and is exploring reciprocal research trade and academic options with Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Ties are also being strengthened with Taipei, Vietnam, Korea and India. As well, discussions are ongoing into how the new NZ-UK Trade Agreement could benefit the region’s local producers and manufacturers. While the year ahead holds considerable uncertainty, the outlook for Palmerston North remains encouraging. “I have repeatedly stated my belief that this city, because of its multi-stranded economic base, is in a good place to weather most economic turmoil – and better than most – and the economic data backs this up.” The city’s draft Long Term Plan, setting out ‘where to from here’, opens for public consultation in April.
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