Last week [subs 5 July 2024], the Ōpōtiki Harbour project team said a fond farewell to David Wyeth, Project Manager from HEB Construction who has been leading the works on the Ōpōtiki Harbour Development site for nearly four years.
Project director, John Galbraith, said that while there is still some time before the project wraps up, demobilising and tidying up the work areas, David will be taking some long-planned leave to travel overseas until mid-August.
“We have been very fortunate to have David here with us for a few years now – he has led the harbour construction works on behalf of HEB Construction since 2020.
“I know David doesn’t want a send-off or a lot said, but I do want to acknowledge that he has been great to work with and we can all see how well he has run this large-scale infrastructure project.
“He has a real focus on the wellbeing of his team and he has put health and safety first, with an outstanding safety record. On this project, HEB have worked more than 470,000 person-hours without any serious injuries.
“He has also built strong relationships into the community, answering questions, often on radio and in the newspaper, really happy to keep everyone up to date with what is happening.
“We’ve really appreciated his leadership,” Mr Galbraith said.
The project doesn’t yet have an official opening date, but the team is working towards land-based operations being completed and tidied up in the coming month or two. Dredging is likely to continue until later in 2024 to ensure a fully navigable channel between the walls and through to the Ōpōtiki wharf. The unusually low river flow conditions over the last nine months have significantly increased the dredging required.
The wharf will be the interim berthage for mussel boats while the private marina on the western side of Pākihikura moves through the consents and building.
“It is dependent on David’s other commitments, but we do hope to get him back for an official opening of the seawalls in a couple of months and that will be another opportunity to acknowledge his mahi,” Mr Galbraith said.
