PORTS

Stella Passage Development: Port of Tauranga

Port of Tauranga · Bay of Plenty

Extension of Port of Tauranga's wharves: the Sulphur Point container berth by 385m in two stages and the Mount Maunganui wharves by a further 315m, with reclamation and dredging of the Stella Passage. It uses land inside the port's current footprint. The fast-track panel granted the approvals on 7 September 2026, subject to conditions. No build cost or construction date has been published.

Favourable signals Data: Medium

Delivery Confidence Score, 0 to 100, higher is better: a ranking of how strong this project's delivery signals are, not a probability. It blends eight factors, including the election risk and policy alignment shown below.

Breakdown▾

Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.

Key facts

Region: Bay of Plenty
Sector: Ports
Status: Planning
Estimated value: Value TBC
Indicative completion: TBC
Funding status: Fully Funded
Lead organisation: Port of Tauranga
Election risk: Safe

Election risk assessment

Commercially funded port expansion consented through fast-track, so it does not depend on a government funding decision.

Government priority alignment

MEDIUM: Commercially funded port capacity, outside the land transport GPS but consistent with its freight-resilience lens.

Recent changes

2026-W37Major New project added: Stella Passage Development: Port of Tauranga (Planning, value TBC).

Chronology

2025Fast-track Approvals Amendment Act (December) corrects a drafting error in the project description
2026Original fast-track application withdrawn on 16 January and relodged on 22 January
2026Fast-track panel releases a draft decision proposing to grant all approvals subject to conditions (17 August), covering a 385m extension of the Sulphur Point container berth in two stages and 315m at the Mount Maunganui wharves, within the existing port footprint
2026Approvals granted under the Fast-track Approvals Act on 7 September 2026, subject to conditions. Port of Tauranga announced the decision the same day. No construction cost, funding or start date has been published

Source

Fast-track Approvals: Stella Passage Development ↗ · RNZ: Port of Tauranga nears finish-line in Stella Passage consent battle ↗ · Port of Tauranga: news ↗ · Te Waihanga National Infrastructure Pipeline: June 2026 quarter ↗

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