IREX PROJECT UPDATE E-NEWS JULY 2022 - NEW INTERISLANDER

iReX Team 

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no-reply@consultationmanager.com                     Mon, Jul 11, 2022 at 1:51 PM
To: "info@irex.co.nz" 

              E-News July 2022

              iReX Project Update

              Kia ora and welcome to our July newsletter.

              We are back in the community ahead of the early construction works starting at
              the new Kaiwharawhara Wellington ferry terminal precinct in August. We’d love to
              see you at our community drop in at Pipitea Marae on 13 July (read more below).

              In the meantime, JFC engineers have been busy doing in-ground investigation
              work, checking for services such as power cables and pipes that might need
              shifting before work starts.

              We have also put the request out for construction contractors to help us deliver
              the main works for this once-in-a-lifetime project.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or just want to have a chat about
the project – we would love to hear from you.

Come have a chat – Community Drop-in

As we move into the delivery phase of the project, the team working on this
awesome project will be ready to chat with you and answer your questions at our
13 July community drop-in.

You’ll be able to experience an interactive digital walk-through of the concept
designs of the new terminal precinct, check out the designs for our new custom-
built, hybrid electric ferries which arrive from 2025, and find out how we are
protecting the environment and making the terminal seismic and climate-change
resilient.

Come and kōrero with the team working on this exciting project and our Taranaki
Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira partners.

Wednesday 13 July
12.30pm – 3pm
Pipitea Marae, 55-59 Thorndon Quay, Wellington

Community engagement

We’ve also been out and about meeting with community groups, including the
Wellington Residents Associations Presidents’ meeting in late May. Several
attendees commented this is a very exciting project for Wellington.

We met with the Sanctuary to Sea strategy group and community group last
month, where the focus was very much on environmental protection of
Kaiwharawhara Stream and estuary. It was great to have Māngai (representative)
for Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, Lee Rauhina-August, join us for the
Sanctuary to Sea Community Group presentation.

Other planned community engagement includes an update to Port Nicholson
Yacht Club in late July.

Construction timing

Inground investigation work

In case you missed it, project engineers from local contractors JFC have checked
for underground services (pipes and wires) that might need shifting before
construction work starts later this year. They used a method called ‘hydrovac
excavation’ to create a hole and vacuum out the material so they could confirm
the exact location of services.

Enabling works

We expect to start ‘enabling’ work on the new terminal precinct in August so you
can expect to see more activity around the site. Workers will be getting the site
ready for the main construction works which are scheduled to begin early next
year.

We’ll be implementing the best practicable options to minimise noise during these
early works and will keep in contact with nearby residents.

Calling awesome contractors

We have put the call out for innovative contractors to help KiwiRail deliver this
unique once-in-a-generation project. As part of our work to get our construction
partners on board we released a video to promote the unique opportunities this
project offers – watch it here https://youtu.be/TyS9G4rCIzI.

iReX (Interisland Resilient Connection Project) is the only project in New Zealand
working across marine and land environments, civil and vertical engineering, rail
and road. We are operating in culturally, ecologically and seismically sensitive
environments, and we have a fixed deadline. It’s definitely a career defining

project. Following evaluation of the tenders, preferred contractors will be
appointed in August.

Project team comes together to celebrate Te Au o
Rehutai

On 19 May, Ngāti Toa Rangatira (Ngāti Toa), Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui (Te
Ātiawa), CentrePort, Port Marlborough, and KiwiRail were hosted at Pipitea
Marae by Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika (Taranaki Whānui) to celebrate
the special relationship that has formed around the project.

The group came together to commemorate the establishment of Te Au o Rehutai.
This new unified Mana Whenua governance and advisory group will inform the
design, look, and feel of the Interislander’s two new Cook Strait ferries and the
redevelopment of port infrastructure in Waitohi Picton and Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Wellington.

Read more here….

Te Au o Rehutai celebration at Pipitea Marae

Matariki

June saw the celebration of Matariki, a cluster of stars that signals the Māori New
Year. Matariki is a time of remembrance, reflection, and an opportunity to plan
and whakanui (celebrate).

It is apt that the beginning of works across the Waitohi Picton and Kaiwharawhara
Wellington terminals align with this period of new beginnings.

Read more...

Waka Visit

One of the benefits of new custom ferries is the opportunity to embed Te ao Māori
and tikanga in the design and build process of our new fleet.

iReX Ships Programme Manager Massimo Soprano, Chair of Te Ātiawa o Te
Waka-a-Māui Rachael Hāte, Māngai (representative) for Taranaki Whānui ki Te
Upoko o Te Ika Lee Rauhina-August, Te Ariki Wi Neera of Ngati Toa Rangatira,
and iReX Programme Director Stephen O’Keefe travelled to Northland at the end
of May to meet expert Waka Builder Heemi Eruera.

Read more...

The group started their trip in Kerikeri, visiting the Kororipo pā by the stone
cottage and the Tauranga waka site, followed by the Waitangi Museum before
moving on to Whangarei.

In Whangarei there was a visit to the workshop of Heemi Ereuera at the Hihiaua
Cultural Centre, where they were able to see both finished and work in progress
waka.

Heemi is the Kaihautu (leader) of the Hanga Waka (waka building project) Rata ki
Uta, and the most experienced waka builder in Aotearoa.

For Massimo, visiting the workshop was a chance to learn about the cultural
practices of waka building and how that could influence some aspects of the
design of the ferries and the celebration of building milestones.

“In a way, we are building two big waka, there are milestones within that process
that will allow us to bring in tikanga Māori principles. Similarly, the importance of
waka in Te ao Māori could influence the narrative and design of the new ferries,”
says Massimo.

On a personal level, Lee found that this trip was an inclusive opportunity for
wahine to be involved in and understand the waka building experience.

“It was amazing to be able to see and touch waka in all its forms, to me it really
signals the return of who we are as mana wahine,” says Lee.

Te Ariki, who is also a carver, has been training in waka building under Heemi and
enjoyed seeing Massimo and Heemi bonding over their connection to seafaring.

Te Ariki says he sees an opportunity “for the Māori whakapapa of sailing to
influence KiwiRail’s way of behaving when in the ocean.”

Rachael Hāte, Te Ariki Wi Neera and Heemi
Eruera at the Hihiaua Cultural Centre

                                             Tauranga Waka site in Kerikeri

                                    Project Website

             Contact us via email info@wellingtonferryprecinct.co.nz

or call us on 0800 NEWFERRY