Port Otago chief executive Geoff Plunket said until Dunedin suffers the traffic congestion that makes inland ports economically-viable in Auckland, such an initiative is not warranted in his region. KiwiRail had raised the issue as the Otago regional transport committee develops a 30-year transport strategy.
While not calling for outright Government intervention nor that councils be pushed to sell their local ports, Mr Parker nonetheless lamented that most ports are making "truly abysmal financial returns on their assets".
