Waitomo Group to open flagship service centre at Ruakura Superhub

Waitomo Group has been named as the first service and retail offering for the Ruakura Superhub and will provide alternative energy options including hydrogen refuelling and EV charging stations along with commercial truck refuelling lanes. 

Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) has signed an agreement with the Waikato-based fuel distributor to develop a full-service, flagship site accessible off the Waikato Expressway via the Ruakura interchange.

“We are delighted to welcome Waitomo Group to Ruakura Superhub. With almost 75 years on the clock, we are confident they know and understand locals and visitors to our region,” TGH chief executive Chris Joblin says. 

“It is great to see a locally-founded company take advantage of the opportunities provided by Ruakura and to deliver the kind of excellent experiences we aspire to provide,” he says. 

The 1.6-hectare site will incorporate a Waitomo Fuel Stop along with a touch-free carwash, two quick-service restaurants, a café and a convenience store which will round out the offerings. The new site is planned to be open by mid-2022.

Waitomo Group managing director Jimmy Ormsby says the business is proud and honoured to be the first retail and service tenant to sign for the Ruakura Superhub.

“This partnership with TGH to develop our flagship Waitomo site at Ruakura cements our commitment to the region we call home and builds on our rapid growth in the market over the last five years. 

“We’re proud and honoured to work with our partners at TGH to help bring the vision of the Ruakura Superhub to reality. 

“The service centre development will reflect the scale and quality expected from a project of national significance,” Ormsby says. 

Joblin says confirmation of the new service centre added to the momentum around Ruakura Superhub.

Extensive earthworks, construction of local connecting roads and leasing negotiations are now in progress right across the first 92-hectare first stage of the 480 hectare-site. 

Ruakura is amongst New Zealand’s largest developments, spanning logistics, industrial, retail and residential development areas. 

It’s located at an emerging ‘sweet spot’ for New Zealand’s supply chain and will be anchored by a 30-hectare inland port, with the first 17-hectare stage now in development by TGH and Port of Tauranga, in a 50/50 joint venture announced earlier this year.

The inland port will be serviced by high-capacity rail and roading infrastructure, with the East Coast main trunk rail line running along the Port’s northern boundary and the new Waikato Expressway on the eastern boundary. Initially, rail services will be provided by the existing MetroPort trains running between Auckland and Tauranga.

The Ruakura precinct is estimated to accommodate 6,000-12,000 jobs once it is fully developed and will have significant social and economic benefits for Waikato iwi, Hamilton, the region and New Zealand as a whole. 

The Ruakura Superhub inland port and adjoining logistics hub are on track to open in early/mid-2022. Express freight operator PBT (formerly Peter Baker Transport) was the first commercial tenant to sign for the development.