IReX Project Officially Closed Out

As previously indicated ( link), Port Marlborough is working closely with KiwiRail and other project partners, on the wind-down of the iReX project, following the government funding announcement in December. The wind-down agreement has now been agreed in terms of the final works of the project being closed.

Our teams have worked with KiwiRail on the iReX project for many years now, and while the news to wind down the project was disappointing, we are continuing to collaborate with the Ministerial Advisory Group, Ministry of Transport, and KiwiRail as we navigate the way forward to ensure the inter-island connection for New Zealand.

Old Terminal Building

The demolition of the old ferry terminal building will now be going ahead as planned over the coming months, and Port Marlborough will be leading the work to reconfigure this site.

The terminal building was built in the 1960s for the Aramoana passenger and freight service and is owned by Port Marlborough. It has served the port and our region well and has seen millions of passengers pass through over the years. It has now reached the end of its life and has not been maintained to the usual high standard over recent years as we were working towards its demolition as part of the iReX project.

The demolition will take place over the next few months, and the site will be made ready for future port operations.

Temporary Terminal Building

We can confirm that the temporary terminal building located on Auckland Street remains a temporary building and will remain in its current location until 2029.
 

Ferry Terminal Car Park

The ferry terminal car park which is located on Port Marlborough owned land, had been reconfigured in recent months in anticipation of the iReX construction works.

As the construction in this area will not be proceeding imminently, our teams will now work on restoring the carpark area to ensure its suitability for short and long-term parking, buses and for our community and visitors to our region.

Number One Wharf

The maintenance of Port Marlborough’s "Number One" (Interislander) wharf had been reduced in anticipation of it being demolished as part of the iReX project. Port Marlborough will resume responsibility for the maintenance programme for this wharf, ensuring the infrastructure will provide reliable service until 2029, before which time we will have a greater understanding of any new interisland ferry requirements.

Thank you

Port Marlborough would like to thank our port customers, and wider community for their patience while these works are progressed.

We also express our appreciation to the individuals from the iReX team at KiwiRail for their eight-year collaboration. Their dedication to securing a resilient, long-term service for the Interislander and their proactive engagement with our stakeholders and community has been appreciated.

Despite the iReX project not moving forward as planned, Port Marlborough remains committed to working in partnership with the government and KiwiRail to find innovative solutions for the Cook Strait connection, ensuring we are prepared for the future.

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