The long-awaited capital dredging programme to deepen Tauranga Harbour shipping channels is set to get underway next week.

Danish dredging company Rohde Nielsen will undertake the work, which will allow the Port of Tauranga to accommodate bigger container ships and increase productivity.

The Brage R enters port. Photo: Supplied.

The first of the two trailer suction dredges involved in the work, the Brage R, is undergoing a blessing ceremony today, and is expected to begin work on Monday.

The bigger of the two dredges involved in the contract – the Balder R – will arrive over the next two months.

The programme aims to widen and deepen the shipping channels from 12.9 metres to 14.5 metres inside the harbour and 15.8 metres outside the harbour.

The $50 million capital project is also set to replenish the sand on local beaches, says Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns.

The Pilot Bay beach, which is regularly replenished by the port's maintenance dredging, will also benefit from the capital dredging, as will the ocean beaches.

'There are two dump sites of clean sand at the mount and further along towards Omanu,” says Mark.

'That's been proven scientifically to have a replenishing effect on the beaches.”

One dump site is between Moturiki and Mount Main Beach, with a further two sites further along Marine Parade.

The dredging work represents the final building block in the port's five-year, $350 million capital expenditure programme.