Hawke's Bay council buys Horizons' share of Napier port

The Port of Napier is now 100 per cent owned by Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

Council chairman Alan Dick said yesterday that the council had bought the 8.3 per cent shareholding previously held by the Horizons (Manawatu-Whanganui) Regional Council.

He declined to give the purchase price. "We want to keep that confidential for a while," he said.

The port listed its total assets at the end of September as $159.4 million, a big increase over the previous year's figure of $126.7m.

This rise was mainly the result of the completion of a $45m new berth.

Mr Dick said 100 per cent ownership would allow efficient restructuring of the council's total investment portfolio, including the potential creation of a holding company structure.

The aim of this body would be to focus the investment portfolio on regional development investments of benefit to Hawke's Bay.

"By owning 100 per cent of the port, the regional council can improve its immediate return on the investment portfolio and better achieve some of the strategic regional economic development goals," Mr Dick said.

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