Stage 1 of the Ruakura Superhub includes inland port, logistics, industrial and service centre developments.
Sweet Spot Story Colin Smith
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS THE NEWEST SECTION OF THE Waikato Expressway will be open, and trucks will be easing back from 90km/h to negotiate a new diamond interchange as they enter the initial stages of the Ruakura Superhub. The huge Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) development on the eastern side of Hamilton promises to bring significant efficiencies to the North Island supply chain as well as importexport freight movements. A 30-year vision for the 480-hectare (ha) Ruakura site extends to including residential, educational and retail elements. But the immediate focus of Stage 1 – due to open during the third quarter of this year – is a 90ha industrial and logistics hub anchored around an inland container port and also supported by a highway service centre. The inland container port - a joint venture between TGH and Port of Tauranga – has road and rail accessibility alongside the new expressway and the East Coast Main Truck rail line. It will assume a key strategic position in the so-called “golden 64 | Truck & Driver
triangle” of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga. TGH Chief Executive Chris Joblin says the excitement is building and Ruakura will soon be able to reveal some of its scale and advantages. “A project like Ruakura, with 480 hectares of land, is like a super tanker. It takes a while to get momentum, but when you do, it’s absolutely unstoppable,” says Joblin. The components of Stage 1 comprise the Inland Port area (initially 17ha, later expanding to 30ha), the logistics precinct (35ha) and the industrial zone (25ha) with the service centre occupying 5ha and about 10ha dedicated to a wetland area adjacent to the expressway. Logistics firm PBT Express Freight Network signed up in mid-2021 and is the first tenant expected to move into the Superhub’s logistics precinct around August this year. Recent progress sees the roof completed on the PBT building and roading constructed to provide access. A more recent announcement from Big Chill Distribution
