By Hamish MacLean of 
Calder Stewart says the facility would take 10,000 heavy truck trips off the road each year by shifting freight to rail. File pic Photo: 123RF
Construction giant Calder Stewart has proposed a "$3 billion" solar-powered inland port it says will boost Otago's export capacity and create hundreds of jobs.
The 'Milburn Quadrant development', north of Milton, would span over 200ha in total and host a 55ha inland port that connected directly to State Highway 1 and the South Island's main trunk rail line, a statement issued this morning said.
Port Otago and Dynes Transport have previously floated plans for an inland depot to be established in Mosgiel which planners last year poured cold water on.
Calder Stewart land and delivery manager Mark Johnston said the facility would take 10,000 heavy truck trips off the road each year by shifting freight to rail.
The statement did not quantify the $3 billion figure.
''Milburn is a shovel-ready, future-facing development that solves real capacity issues for our exporters.
"It's fully privately funded, so it won't burden ratepayers and offers the scale and connectivity our regional economy urgently needs.
''With Port Chalmers facing container storage limits and the cost of upgrading alternate sites like Mosgiel projected at over $100 million in public spending, Milburn offers a scalable, investment-ready solution designed to meet the growing needs of the Otago-Southland region, without placing an immediate burden on ratepayers or requiring upfront public funding.
''This region is heading into a logistics bottleneck.
''Without scalable inland port infrastructure, exporters will face rising costs, road congestion and lost opportunities. We estimate Milburn could eliminate over 10,000 heavy truck movements per year by shifting volume to rail.''
Port Chalmers in Dunedin. Photo: Donovan Govan, Otago Regional Council
He said freight volumes from Central and South Otago were forecast to grow 30 percent to 40 percent over the next decade, as forestry and dairy exports grew.
Calder Stewart had already completed Stage 1 of the project, a state-of-the-art campus with offices and a 10,000 sqm steel fabrication facility at Revolution Hills, northeast of Milton.
The company would also build out the inland port infrastructure using its own property, design, manufacturing, construction teams and plant.
''In addition to being New Zealand's largest industrial landowner, we're also a vertically integrated property development and construction business with decades of experience in building large-scale infrastructure.
''With concrete, steel, cranes and a local labour force already on-site, we can deliver faster and more efficiently than anyone else in the market,'' he said.
Construction on the inland port was expected to begin within 24 months, subject to resource consent approvals.
The development would, significantly lift the region's export throughput.
All the new buildings at the development would include rooftop solar generation, funded and installed by Calder Stewart Energy Limited, which could generate up to 50MW of power to be used on site or distributed to the local community.
A 350 kW solar system was now fully operational at the company's steel fabrication facility, marking the first stage of the development and a key step toward its renewable energy vision, he said.
Calder Stewart's lower South Island business development manager John D'Arcy said the company was now seeking local government support to fast-track approvals and would present the proposal to government officials and stakeholders in the coming weeks.
''Port Chalmers is approaching logistical constraints, particularly around container storage and log volume. A delay in new inland capacity risks bottlenecking exports and eroding competitiveness,'' he said.
''This is about real economic transformation, securing long-term freight capacity, creating hundreds of jobs, and easing the pressure on urban roads and infrastructure.
''Milton is strategically positioned closer to the region's agricultural producers, where the bulk of freight originates.
''That's where rail delivers the greatest benefit, with both carbon and cost efficiency improving over distance.
''It's a smarter, more sustainable hub for Southland and Central Otago producers.
''What we need right now is visibility, political backing and certainty around regulatory timelines.
''With the right support, we can secure council approvals and ensure the public understands the scale and value of what's being built here.''
This story was first published by the Otago Daily Times.
