March 01, 2020
PGF finds formula to fund Opotiki harbour upgrade
The prospects for Te Whakatōhea’s offshore mussel farm have been boosted with the announcement of a $79 million central government investment in the Ōpōtiki harbour redevelopment.
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says the funding from the Provincial Growth Fund is part of the $12 billion New Zealand upgrade programme announced last month.
He says successive Governments have been unable to make the harbour project stack up, but officials from the Provincial Development Unit along with engineer Rosie Mercer from the fund’s Independent Advisory Panel have developed a concept that is fit-for-purpose yet affordable.
Mr Jones says the project will revitalise Ōpōtiki and the wider eastern Bay of Plenty, creating hundreds of jobs and unlocking new aquaculture industries.
Currently Te Whakatōhea’s mussel farm is serviced from Whakatane, but the upgraded port means the iwi can build processing facilities in Ōpōtiki.
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