The Whanganui Port said that emergency dredging works will begin in the Whanganui Port basin this week, following approval of a one-off consent variation by Horizons Regional Council.
The dredging is required to enable a clear channel in the area.
Without this work, local businesses would face significant disruption, putting jobs and the wider Te Pūwaha Whanganui Port revitalization project at risk, the Port said.
“ Getting this work consented has required a culmination of approvals and we have had to work extensively with the Department of Conservation, and our Regional Council’s regulatory team. Hapū at place have guided the project through a process that has ensured this is a one-off, given the unprecedented pressure facing the project, and ultimately our wider community if this work cannot proceed ,” said Hayden Turoa , Te Pūwaha project director.
Initial dredging will be undertaken using a long-reach excavator in the mobile boat hoist lift-out bay, before the Johnson Bros’ dredger Mahikuri , a purpose-built 25-metre flat-top multipurpose barge, arrives later in September to complete the works.
The sediment will be disposed to trucks at the wharf that will initially transport it to a temporary, contained site on Wharf 2.
Further disposal sites are still being determined, the Port said.