FIRST DECK POUR SCHEDULED
We are all set for our next major 6 Wharf project milestone next week – the very first deck concrete pour. Scheduled to take place on Monday 21 December, this deck pour represents the next important step in the wharf construction timeline.
With piling progress on track for the first section of wharf, we are now ready to pour approximately 430 m3 of concrete on top of an initial 14.5m section of piles. This first section of the wharf deck will measure 33 metres wide and 14.5 metres long, with another 35 sections to complete over the next 20 months.

The concrete pour is a significant logistical undertaking and we have a detailed project plan in place to make sure everything goes smoothly. Starting at approximately 8pm and running through the night, locally-operated Bridgeman’s concrete trucks will begin arriving on port to unload at the western end of 6 Wharf.
The concrete trucks will be staggered over a period of approximately 8 hours in order to complete the pour as efficiently as possible. All truck drivers will be briefed on the following controls to keep noise down during the duration of the operation:
- Trucks will slow down as they turn onto Breakwater Road, prior to the rail crossing at the Hardinge Road intersection
- Reversing beepers on the concrete trucks will be switched to squawkers (This reduces the ability of the noise to travel)
- No engine braking in Ahuriri area
- No tooting on concrete trucks and concrete pump
Also, operational teams will implement the following additional project controls:
- Spotter will be situated at the Port’s main Western Gate to bring trucks through into the port
- Minimal shifting of gear and plant
- No shouting
Please note, the scheduled date for the concrete pour has been selected to align with a number of construction activities. It is still subject to change based on these activities and also weather permitting (the pour will be postponed if it rains).
PROGRESS UPDATE
We’re continuing to make good progress across all of the wider 6 Wharf construction activities. As we head into 2021, here’s a quick snapshot of where things are at with some of the key activities:
PILING
– 191 piles of 400 completed
DREDGING
– 400,000 m3 dredged of a total of around 1.3M m3, with no exceedance of water quality limits at Pania Reef. This includes 40,000 m3 of fine sand delivered to Westshore beach using a trailer suction dredge (further details on this project available here)
– 34% of the revetment slope has been trimmed by the backhoe dredge
REVETMENT REINFORCEMENT
– 883 of a total of 4500 revetment armour blocks cast, 510 are now in place using a 125 tonne long reach excavator with a 360 degree rotating grab
– Five out of 21 barge loads of armour rock have arrived on site from Whangarei, and 10% is now in place
ARTIFICIAL REEF
– Eight loads of limestone rock have now been delivered to the artificial reef 1.4 kilometres north east of Pania Reef (further details on this project available here)
PENGUIN LIVE CAMERA HAS LAUNCHED
Last week we welcomed our first Kororā chicks in the penguin sanctuary for the 2020 breeding season. A pair of chicks hatched on Monday and are doing well.
Our Port team have set up an unobtrusive livecamera in the nesting box to capture the chicks start to life. The live-stream channel – known as “Keeping Up With the Kororā”, has launched on the Napier Port website here (and YouTube here) and will let the public see what the chicks are up to and watch them grow. Click on the image below to watch now.
150 PENGUINS MICRO-CHIPPED
In another milestone, we recently micro-chipped our 150th penguin since the sanctuary opened in 2018. Micro-chipping penguins in the sanctuary is a critical part of tracking their movements around the region and monitoring if they return to the sanctuary. This data is a important part of the research that is being undertaken on the local Kororā population, and will contribute to the international body of knowledge on the species.