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Te Awaparahi Bay Expansion: Lyttelton Port
Lyttelton Port Company (Christchurch City Holdings) · Canterbury
A 388m deepwater wharf and 5-hectare container terminal at Te Awaparahi Bay, east of the existing Lyttelton container berths, announced in August 2026. Four new ship-to-shore cranes and semi-automated gantry yard cranes lift annual berth capacity to about 850,000 TEU. The driver is resilience: building here removes the need to rebuild the ageing container berths and lets the port keep operating at full capacity meanwhile. Funded by debt plus about $300m of equity from Christchurch City Holdings.
Data current as at 13 Jun 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Canterbury
- Sector
- Other
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $821m
- Indicative completion
- 2031
- Funding status
- Fully Funded
- Lead organisation
- Lyttelton Port Company (Christchurch City Holdings)
- Election risk
- Safe
Election risk assessment
Commercially funded port expansion, financed by debt and council-holding equity rather than the Crown, so it does not depend on a government decision.
Government priority alignment
MEDIUM: Commercially funded port capacity and resilience; outside the land transport GPS but consistent with its freight-resilience lens.
Chronology
- 2026Lyttelton Port Company commits NZ$821m to the Te Awaparahi Bay Expansion and Resilience Project: a 388m deepwater wharf, 5ha container terminal and four ship-to-shore cranes, with about $300m equity from Christchurch City Holdings (August)
- 2031Target completion; annual berth capacity about 850,000 TEU
Source
RNZ: Lyttelton Port announces $821m expansion ↗ · ODT: Lyttelton Port to invest $821m in expansion project ↗