Last year we announced the Eastern Development, an $85 million project to expand our container terminal in Lyttelton.

The development covers a range of work including the construction of a new maintenance workshop, the addition of four new reefer towers, expanding ground slots for the terminal and the creation of a second R&D area.

Now, more than halfway through, the development is really starting to take shape.

Civil works have been substantially completed, as we add four hectares to the container terminal and move the ring road to the edge of the land.

The maintenance building is on track to be delivered in May next year. The modern facility will house our Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Stores and Planning teams, featuring offices, workshops and straddle repair bays.

The reefer towers are also on track to be finished in May next year and will add an additional 392 plugs to our reefer capacity.

A large part of the installation of the towers remains largely unseen as we have worked closely with Orion to upgrade our power capabilities. High voltage cabling has been installed through the site to support the four new towers, along with possible future expansions.

Designs have also been finalised for the new R&D lanes with the teams beginning work in the area.

Health and safety is at the forefront of the lane design, with reduced straddle vs truck risk and an increase in hard barriers separating truck drivers and straddles, making it an all-around safer interaction.

We are excited about the progress that has been made in the Eastern Development and are looking forward to the capacity this will bring in 2023.

If you’re in Lyttelton, make sure you head to the Sumner Road lookout for the best view of the project!