Port of Auckland announced on Thursday, November 5, that works to complete the Fergusson reclamation and extend the Fergusson North wharf in New Zealand are underway.
The port said the wharf extension will allow it to handle container ships of up to 10,000 TEU. Consented channel deepening is scheduled to begin in 2027. The port expects the reclamation, the wharf extension and the dredging to be completed in late 2027.
The current works are the final phase of a 10-hectare reclamation programme that was consented in 2001.
The 45-metre extension, built on reinforced concrete piles, will fill the gap between the existing wharf and its mooring dolphin.
The existing berth can already moor a 10,000 TEU vessel of around 350 metres using the dolphin. However, the wharf is too short for quay cranes to reach the full length of the ship's holds.
The extension was approved under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 on August 21, 2025, together with the Bledisloe North wharf. Construction of Bledisloe North began in September 2025, and that project is scheduled for completion in March 2027.
The shallowest sections of the Rangitoto channel currently have a depth of 12.5 metres at low tide. The consent for capital dredging covers deepening the channel to 14 metres and the Fergusson North berth to 15.2 metres.
In 2025, the port forecast that the largest container ships calling at Auckland would grow from around 6,000 TEU to 10,000 TEU over the following five years. The port handled 932,209 TEU in its 2026 financial year.
