POAL working to reduce truck delays

Ports of Auckland is working to resolve delays recently experienced by road carriers at the port.

“The issues behind the delays are complex and we are working collaboratively with the road transport community and other stakeholders to understand and address them,” says General Manager Operations and Productivity Grant Jorey.

Over the last month 76% of all shifts have recorded average truck processing times of 30 minutes or less, with only the occasional shift averaging over one hour.

“However, we acknowledge and apologise for the frustration being experienced on some occasions,” says Mr Jorey. “We are committed to returning truck processing times to Australasia-best standard of below 30 minutes as soon as possible.”

“We are also reviewing our contingency plans for dealing with unexpected situations such as power outages and severe vessel clumping.”

“We are making further changes to the Fergusson truck park to enhance truck flow and safety and will continue to work closely with the Road Transport Association to reduce 'no-shows'.”

Less port-related traffic on local roads

At a breakfast meeting last Friday the port’s engineering consultancy BECA briefed local transport officials, shipping lines and freight companies on two recent research projects.

One study surveyed the impact of port-related traffic on local roads. The other used Auckland Regional Council and New Zealand Transport Agency data to model predicted travel times on key freight routes. (View the presentations here)

Managing Director Jens Madsen said the percentage of trucks using local arterials in the eastern suburbs to reach the port had reduced from 17% in 2004 to 7%, thanks primarily to the Grafton Gully and Central Motorway Junction developments.

"By 2021, if key Auckland road projects proceed, congestion on key freight routes servicing the port will not be significantly worse than today. The research sets to rest a myth that congestion on Auckland’s road network would not constrain long-term growth at Ports of Auckland,” Mr Madsen said.

Read more

POAL partners with two Auckland schools

POAL has formed partnerships with two Auckland schools as part of the Ed&Co programme. The schools selected are Wiri Central School, a primary and intermediate school close to POAL's Wiri Inland Port, and Te Papapa School, a primary school in Onehunga.

Ed&Co partners low-decile schools with corporate businesses. The programme aims to reduce education inequality within New Zealand’s schools by enhancing school governance and management.

For POAL, the arrangements offer the opportunity to form grass-roots relationships in the communities in which we operate, and to improve perceptions of our corporate social responsibility.

Managing Director Jens Madsen is going to lead our relationship with Wiri Central School (in fact he will be ‘Principal for a Day’ there on August 26) and CFO Wayne Thompson with Te Papapa.

Ed & Co was formed as a Charitable Trust in May 2008 from the pilot programme 'Building Better Schools through Business Partnerships', an initiative of the Committee for Auckland.

Read more about Ed & Co

Going well... Two down, one to go!

The Department of Conservation (DOC) has undertaken the third aerial bait drop on Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands.

The islands were closed as of yesterday, and will be closed until Friday 14 August, opening again to the public on Saturday 15 August.

Project Manager Richard Griffiths has been extremely pleased with the roll out of the restoration project. “The eradication of rodents is the first step towards a pest free Rangitoto and Motutapu and so far everything has gone according to plan.”

Ports of Auckland again lent a helping hand with the third bait drop, providing the Archeron hydro survey vessel and crew to assist in advising the public of the island closures.

Read more

Increasing popularity of cruising among New Zealanders

P&O Cruises has extended its New Zealand cruise season following a sell-out response this year.

The 2009 cruise season for P&O Cruises has seen a 20 percent growth in the number of families travelling on each cruise.

P&O Cruises’ Pacific Sun returned to Auckland on Tuesday to mark the end of a two-month season in which she carried 12,000 Kiwis on 70 calls to 17 different ports throughout the South Pacific.

P&O Bookings for the 2010 season are already looking strong with last week recording the strongest level of sales for a season still nine-months away.

Cruise NZ Chairman Craig Harris says despite the economic climate hitting many travel and tourism businesses hard, the $174 million cruise industry is in good shape and looking forward to a bright future.

Read more

If you do not wish to continue receiving emails from us please reply to this email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you would like to subscribe to eNews, please register by sending an email to info@poal.co.nz.