Waikato River Canal, Alternative 10-Year-Plan Our Vision
4. Waikato River canal, Alternative 10-Year-Plan Our vision Hamilton, enriched by the Waikato River, a socially and environmentally responsible city and a good place to live: • affordable and equitable, • safe, clean and green, • where people value cultural diversity, • celebrate our heritage, • engage in local affairs, • and develop a sustainable community for our grandchildren and future generations. And regionally: A future where a healthy Waikato River sustains abundant life and prosperous communities who, in turn, are all responsible for restoring and protecting the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River, and all it embraces, for generations to come. This is the overall vision that drives this Alternative Plan for Hamilton. Waikato River canal We recommend an independent Business Case be developed for the long-held vision of two canals linking the Waikato River with the Manukau and Waitemata Harbours. The concept is a transformational project in these extraordinary times, to take account of • Climate change, and • The ‘four well-beings’ (economic, environmental, social and cultural), with • Project development oversight by the ‘Hamilton- Auckland Corridor local governments, Waikato River Authority, Mana Whenua, Waikato and Auckland Chambers of Commerce, Ports of Auckland, and other interested parties, with an Independent Chair. Background From the 1860s in New Zealand, many people dreamed of connecting the waterways of Waikato and Auckland with two canals following traditional transport routes. Maori had long carried their waka from the Waitemata’s Tamaki estuary the short distance overland to the Manukau, and then south and north through the Waiuku River 15 km to the Waikato River This project and requirements for locks, is tiny in comparison with current international experience and this nation’s past record on significant public works such as the Main Trunk Railway with the King Country’s Raurimu spiral and massive viaducts in the early 20th century, the Kaimai Tunnel (1978), and the Clyde Dam (1992).
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