Northland Port Corporation - NTH

[beautifulmind]

Any thoughts on this organisation and its share price. There has been talk of Marsden Point becoming a major export port for maturing forests up north. Is there potential for the share price to rise like Ports of Tauranga (POT) and Auckland (POA)? Any comments/views welcome.

[glennj]

Yes it will become a major port for export of forest products. Already does quite significant business but is in a bit of a lull at the moment because of lowish export prices for Korean grades & Carters reduced cut. (CHH need to improve the harvest age profile)
To me this looks a good medium to longer term investment.
Also some talk of converting the moth balled oil fired powerstation to coal which would be a positive for NTH but this may be a long shot due to Labour's current energy policies.

[rmbbrave]

Huge industrial park planned for Ruakaka

Saturday December 9, 2006
By Colin Taylor


Construction of a large-scale industrial park called Northgate will commence south of Whangarei in April.

The 92ha industrial park comprising 193 sites will service the new deepwater port and a new town centre planned for Marsden Pt, near Ruakaka.

The industrial centre is the brainchild of Auckland-based Oliver Scott, director and shareholder of North Holdings.

He predicts that the fully developed industrial and town area with land and buildings will be valued at over $1 billion over the next 10 years and will bring a much needed influx of industry and employment to the Northland region.

"Stage 1 of our development, comprising 50 lots on 21.4ha worth $30 million, has already been sold.

"This has been mainly by word of mouth and through Bayleys' database without any advertising," Scott says.

"In fact we've only just been granted resource consent for the development so we're having our first open day today to take advantage of the festivities surrounding the launch of Hoppers' Marsden Cove development, which is expected to attract up to 10,000 people."

The few remaining sections in Stage 1 and another 49 in Stage 2 comprise the first freehold industrial land offered for public purchase on the Port Marsden Highway and One Tree Pt Rd just 3km south of Northport, Marsden Pt's deepwater port.

Lloyd Budd of Bayleys Whangarei, who is marketing the sections with Rod MacFarlane of Bayleys Auckland, says the available sites range from about 2400sq m up to 6200sq m.

"The majority average around 4000sq m and we are offering them for sale at $175 per sq m," Budd says. Titles to the fully serviced sites are due early to mid 2008.

While the entire land area purchased by Scott for the industrial park is 92ha, the net area for construction is 75ha after allowing for roading, reserves, stormwater ponds and other services.

After the sale of the 40ha comprising Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Northgate Industrial Park, Scott intends holding on to the remaining 35ha for future development.

Directly adjacent to Scott's Northgate industrial park is the 120ha site of a proposed Marsden Pt Town Centre that he jointly owns with local developer Tony Jelas.

The new town centre is expected to include a transport centre, full central business and retail district, shopping centre, high-density residential area, a tertiary education facility, a sports complex and aquatic centre.

Scott also believes Whangarei will, in the near future, have a new international airport similar to Queenstown's that will be capable of handling jet aircraft from overseas.

He says Marsden Pt and Ruakaka are at a stage of development that Tauranga was at 20 years ago.

"With the move towards new container ships that are three to four times the size of current vessels, Marsden Pt could well be the only port in New Zealand capable of docking some of these ships," Scott says.

"They cost US$1 million a day to keep running and want a fast turnaround. It's likely there will only be one international loading and unloading point in New Zealand for each shipping company and Marsden Pt will also be the closest port to Australia."

He sees Marsden Pt being an export-import hub with coastal shipping, rail and road distributing goods south.

"This is why Ports of Tauranga and Ports of Auckland have major shareholdings in Northport," he says.

Ken Crean, chief executive of Northports, the operating company for the Ports of Whangarei and Marsden Pt, says the largest container ships servicing New Zealand ports carry 4100 containers.

"However, it's thought there could be a demand for ships that can carry 6000 containers to dock here," says Crean.

He says Marsden Pt is the deepest port in New Zealand at 14.5m with an under-keel clearance at all tides enabling ships to come in with a draft of 13m.

In comparison, Ports of Auckland has recently completed dredging to 12.5m draft at any time.

Other proposed developments w

[duncan macgregor]

This is where I live so being a retired builder who goes out fishing on a regular basis this is my opinion. The new industrial subdivision in my opinion is a great white elephant which is well designed and constructed. Completed roughly two years ago with not a building insight or likely to be. I see they have used the new paved streets for car racing last week, which will do the new roads no good at all. I ask what on earth can you build a factoty to produce for export, and compete in this day and age?, perhaps some one here might enlighten me. Deep water port about seventeen mtrs deep with no bar to cross plenty of room to expand would be ideal with a new rail link which they are talking about building. I think the future of the port is great, the industrial part is rubbish, unless they can make timber products cheaper than the slave labour countries who do it at a fraction of the cost using our logs. Macdunk

[cloggs]

Northport was mentioned a few times as an alternative to Auckland Port with its industrial strife. It seems illiquid with bids at 170 and asks at 195 and 200.

[Marilyn Munroe]

Marsden Point has plusses and minuses as a container port;

+ deep draft.
+ land availiable at waterside.
+ some existing port infrastructure as part of the refinery.

- lack of rail access.
- distance from population & industrial centers.


Boop boop de do

Marilyn

[duncan macgregor]

Marsden Point has plusses and minuses as a container port;

+ deep draft.
+ land availiable at waterside.
+ some existing port infrastructure as part of the refinery.

- lack of rail access.
- distance from population & industrial centers.


Boop boop de do

Marilyn

rail access is easy they already own the land. Tunnels are to small for the large containers would have to be enlarged. Distance is less than half that af POT to AUK. Port is ideal for expansion with a huge industrial complex site ready to go. Will it happen?, it must one day.
Plenty of flat land available for container storage, with little or no traffic problems. Ideal for some overseas industrialist with a large budget to be enticed to NZ. Do your stuff MARILYN lure the bugger here most of us have nothing to offer. MACDUNK

[Marilyn Munroe]

Ideal for some overseas industrialist with a large budget to be enticed to NZ. Do your stuff MARILYN lure the bugger here most of us have nothing to offer. MACDUNK

Unfortunately without some arrangement to counter, any new port would be just a further opportunity for the Vikings from Copenhagen to play ports off against each other.

Boop boop de do

Marillyn