Business North October 2021

18 | Talk to us today, the feature profile experts Phone: 03 983 5500 waterfordpress.co.nz PROFILE YOUR PROJECT... MARINA INDUSTRY Expansion gets underway from page 17 The marina currently has 1800 berths ranging in size from 8 – 24-metres. Westhaven Marina Newmarina sets the benchmark Karen Phelps beaconmarine.co.nz K ennedy Point Marina is aiming to set a new standard for marina development in New Zealand including setting up a charitable trust to foster maritime pro- grammes. “We wanted to give something back so we decided to set up the trust in addition to other things we are doing,” says project director of Kennedy Point Marina Tony Mair. He says that the Auckland Council does not presently have a policy on coastal occupation charging and while there was no obligation on the developer to offer this the project resolved from the outset to acknowledge that it was seeking occupation rights in public space and wanted to address that. He says his initiative goes beyond legal requirements and is unique to Kennedy Point Marina. The trust fund will receive funding initially from the company and then annually from berth holders as part of the Marina’s operat- ing expenses. Local groups will be able to apply to the fund for maritime and conservation related projects, for example including scholarships, wildlife protection, youth sailing and coastal environment research. The public will also have access to the ma- rina, another point of difference compared to other marinas around the country, he says. Located at Kennedy Point, at the mouth to Putiki Bay on the southwestern side of Waiheke Island, the marina will provide per- manent berthage for 180 recreational boats in fully serviced berths ranging from 10m to 30m in length. Temporary berthage for smaller visiting boats will also be available along with a range of other facilities including a café for the boating and general public. Car parking will be provided on New Zealand’s first floating car park pontoon, designed by internation- ally acclaimed Swedish marina company, S F Marina AB. Tony has over 58 years’ experience in mari- time and civil construction and over the last 35 years has specialised in marina development making him New Zealand’s leading marina developer having been involved in over 6000 berths locally and overseas with 17 completed projects. Recent projects include Orakei Mari- na (Downtown Auckland), Opua Marina (Bay of Islands) and Tutukaka Marina. Tony says changes in the industry over the past decades have seen a marked increase in vessel size along with changes in technology and materials. Construction on Kennedy Point Marina started in late 2020 with most of the components being manufactured off-site. The large attenuator and car park pontoons are being manufactured by Heron Construc- tion in Whangarei while the internal floating structures will be built at Total Marine’s casting yard in Auckland. Onsite works for the access wharf were started a few months ago. Tony says that the design of Kennedy Point Marina is unique in a number of respects. As the site is naturally deep, no dredging is required to build it, and no dredging will be needed to maintain it. No reclamation is proposed and only an extremely small section of the existing rock foreshore will be modified with no disruption to the existing beach will occur. State-of-the-art floating attenuators will protect the marina piers, which Tony says have a very light footprint on the seabed when compared to rock breakwaters and have mini- mal environmental impact. There were over 1000 registrations of inter- est to purchase the berths and most have now been sold. Only a limited number of berths above 18m remain. Tony says that once completed the marina will be a huge advan- tage to locals in terms of access to the island generating tourism opportunities and spin off business effect. Marina Manager Karenza Harris says there is no longer demand for 8 – 10 metre berths, which are currently 25% empty. “Those berths used to be full but the demand now is for 16, 18, 20 and 24-metre berths. The area that we’ve started construc- tion in had six rows of an un-serviced pile mooring area. “People had to row to and from their boats but demand for that has gone right down and we are at 20% occupancy in that area. “People just want to be able to step onto their boats from a pier and they want to be able to plug into water and electricity all the time. “So we decided to remove two rows of piles and move all those craft into one place. That gave us the opportunity to spread out because we’re limited in the footprint we have to extend into.” The first stage providing 45 new berths with 20-metre craft on one side and 24-metre craft on the other has just been completed with Auckland firm Total Marine engaged to under- take the waterside work. The remaining rows of piles will be removed as the extension project continues over the next couple of years. The next stage will be a mirror image of what has just been completed,” says Karenza. “Covid has caused supply chain issues in terms of materials and so we do need to be flexible with time lines. “Once the contractor starts they can usually complete the project within six months, so hopefully this time next year the next pier will be ready to go. “We’re now working on the business case for the final stage but it is likely to be 60 16 – 18-metre craft.” The western access point for the boats has also been closed off and a land-reclamation built by Heron Construction who dredged the marina, mixing cement with the dredged material to create mudcrete, which was used to build the land up for the reclamation. “At the moment the reclamation is just sit- ting because it needs to settle and that takes six months to a year. Then we can start con- struction of car parks, toilets and a walkway.” In addition to increasing capacity, marina management is also taking the opportunity to upgrade he underground services and future proof the electrical requirements of the boats. Kennedy Point Marina “People just want to be able to step onto their boats from a pier and they want to be able to plug into water and electricity all the time. “