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Business, employment and tourism benefits are all expected to flow through the Bay of Plenty region as a result of the advent of Tauranga's new marine precinct at Sulphur Point.

The facility – branded Vessel Works - was unveiled last night to an audience of major local and national industry players, representatives of local and central government, and businesses involved in the venture.

The central feature of the development is a 350 tonne travel lift – easily the largest and most sophisticated in the country – along with hardstand space to cope with at least seven vessels over 30m in length, an ecologically responsible drainage system which collects and processes all water discharges and recycles water used in the wash down area, and all key boat service and maintenance operators conveniently on-site.

The initial $11.4m cost of the development, jointly funded by the Tauranga City Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council, will be partially recouped from the sale of properties around the site - a funding arrangement which received praise from the New Zealand Marine Industry Association's Executive Director Peter Busfield.

'Congratulations to everyone involved, and particularly the Tauranga City Council and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. It's a great example of collaboration, and then bringing in private business to invest in the tooling and skill base.

'We think this is a huge opportunity for Tauranga and for New Zealand,” Peter says, 'because this will be one of the most organised marine precincts in the country. Around the world, Australia and in Europe they're building precincts like this so it's great to have New Zealand right up there with the professionalism that a brand new precinct brings.”

Peter is impressed with the potential of Vessel Works to compete in the lucrative global marine service industry.

'What we're talking about is being able to haul these large vessels out of the water very quickly and efficiently with a 350 tonne travel lift, and then having the ten major suppliers in the area for the painting, the engineering, the boatbuilding, the electronics. But in addition there's all the subcontractors around Tauranga that'll feed into that.

'So when you build a situation like this with the haulout facilities the work will come. That's proven worldwide. And already I returned from overseas last week and spoke to a customer coming to Tauranga to have their refit done.

'So it's not only the local boats or New Zealand boats but this will bring in export earnings to Tauranga. In the southern hemisphere New Zealand is known as the best quality for refitting and servicing large vessels, and now with this facility we'll be able to grow that business.”

The modern, clean environment is one of the striking features of the facility for Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless.

'The first thing that struck me is that it's a complete change from the boatyards of old, which were notorious for rubbish, oil, tar, you name it, lying around and polluting the waterways. But this is just so clean, and I think by keeping it clean it means it's going to attract a good quality boatbuilding industry here, servicing people's boats, sending them away, and not impacting on our harbour detrimentally.”

Greg believes the precinct will create around 130 new permanent jobs directly, in addition to the flow-on effects for employment and training opportunities in downstream businesses.

There's more development to come too, he says. 'I think you'll see a number of the sheds developing around here, by private businesses. And probably improvement of some of the wharves which are in a variety of states.”

Those in the immediate vicinity of Vessel Works are in good shape, Greg says, but others in the area could do with some work, which will further add to the facility's appeal.

'And therefore more people bringing their boats to the area.”

Don Mattson, Managing Director of long-standing Tauranga company Hutcheson Boatbuilders, says the main thing for his business, and more importantly the local marine service community, is that they now have their own facility.

'We've had very good facilities at the bridge marina and the Sulphur Point marina, but this gives us the next step that we've been missing for a number of years. We can get some of our old customers back, and also look for new customers.

'Our focus for many years recently has been repairs and maintenance, and that's a big part of our business and an important part which we want to grow. But we're looking to grow back into new builds, and also working with importers in assembling imported boats.”

Peter Busfield of the New Zealand Marine Industry Association further highlights the tourism benefits the Bay of Plenty region can expect from the development.

'With the America's Cup we've got the focus on New Zealand, and we're going to be short of facilities. So I've got the feeling that Tauranga – you're going to be booked out. It'll be good for the business people that are here, and for the whole region.

'You've got the largest travel lift in New Zealand, and then lovely bars and restaurants and golf courses and wineries.

'And you've got the surf beaches, Mt Maunganui, and the other regions from Whakatane to Rotorua, so it's a great opportunity for some of those international superyachts in particular to experience this region while they're having their boat refitted in the new Vessel Works Sulphur Point marine precinct.”