The Project

The Southern Link Logistics Park is a future-proof supply chain and transport solution.

The Southern Link Logistics Park is a world-class, privately funded development that will transform Dunedin’s transport, logistics and supply chain infrastructure. The 40-hectare site, adjacent to rail in Mosgiel offers our region a rare opportunity to remove the majority of road-to-port freight off the road and onto existing rail infrastructure.

This well-constructed plan provides future-proof economic and trade growth opportunities and takes pressure off Port Otago’s congested wharf infrastructure.

Sophisticated onsite warehousing, container facilities and state-of-the-art equipment and technology at the Southern Link Logistics Park will use renewable energy. Planning includes smart initiatives to mitigate noise or light pollution, caring for the local community. The site will be MPI and customs-compliant for imports and exports, including the potential for a free trade zone to be developed.

The Southern Link Logistics offers transformative environmental gains, urban transport advantages, and social and economic benefits. We seek to collaborate with the community, local government agencies and stakeholders to bring this exciting proposal to life.

Southern Link Logistics Park provides:

  • World-class inland logistics operation
  • Single-site solution in nearby Mosgiel
  • Uses existing Kiwirail infrastructure
  • Speeds up the transfer of freight and goods
  • Transformative environmental benefits
  • Renewable energy in new buildings & handling equipment
  • Customers get the opportunity to release capital
  • Cost efficiencies for customers, provide economic growth for all

Southern Link Logistics Park

Understand more about the Southern Link Logistics Park and the benefits to Dunedin and the Southern Region.

The Site

Located on a flat 40-hectare rail-adjacent site, the Southern Link Logistics Park has the capacity to scale for the future.

  • Onsite upgrade facilities, allowing faster container access
  • Break Bulk Storage Facility for assembly and construction of non-containerised products
  • Renewable energy to power new buildings and container handling equipment.
  • Increased chiller and frozen capacity to provide ambient, chilled, and frozen storage
  • Customers can outsource their logistics for just-in-time delivery to the Port
  • Temperature-controlled plugin services for imported and exported goods
  • Straddles and reach stackers to move containers around the site
  • Onsite MPI and customs compliance for the import and export of goods
  • Potential for a free trade zone to be developed
  • Workforce housing & accommodation supplied onsite
  • Five-hectare Container Terminal for storage of import and export containers
  • Four-hectare Container Deport for maintenance and upgrade of export and import containers
  • Warehousing configured to 2500 – 15,000 sq metres per customer
  • Warehouses have their own truck canopy and unloading area
  • Higher Stud warehousing to allow for five-pallet high stacking
  • Truck Servicing Area includes Hydrogen fuel depot, truck & and fork hoist maintenance facility
  • Containerised and bulk cargo equipment – powered by renewable energy.
  • Empty container storage and supply

350,000

tonnes of import / export products are currently moved each year by truck into Dunedin

Dunedin truck movements cover

1,160,000

kilometres each year, accounting for 4,800 tonne of CO2 per annum

$200m

Private sector investment

Opportunity and Benefits

The Southern Link Logistics Park creates deep economic value and future proofs trade growth.

Business and Economic Benefits

  • Creates deep economic value and future-proof the economic and trade growth needed for the Southern region.
  • An efficient transport and distribution network leads to increased economic activity, trade and regional investment.
  • Increasing available freight transport windows on road and rail, plus better utilisation of facilities, means better customer cost outcomes.
  • Allows customers the option of capital release, moving local business expenditure from fixed to variable cost, transferring risk and freeing up capital.
  • World-class, high-quality logistics park of scale to keep the costs down.
  • Leverages the existing KiwiRail infrastructure, which alleviates the need for big capital expenditure from central or local government.

Transport Infrastructure Benefits

  • Vastly improved transport infrastructure and improve supply chain resilience.
  • Reduces heavy truck traffic away from Dunedin City, reducing expensive wear and tear on local roads.
  • Reduces transportation bottlenecks and congestion.
  • Reducing over 19,000 truck movements annually from Dunedin city streets onto rail.
  • One Heavy truck and trailer is equivalent to 21 cars in terms of road degradation, providing significant cost savings in road maintenance.
  • Critical supply chain resilience can be achieved by moving core freight and transport services outside Dunedin City.
  • Unlocks Port capacity for better utilisation of limited Port infrastructure.

Employment and Growth Benefits

  • The construction phase of the Southern Link Logistics Park will create significant job growth.
  • The Southern Link Logistics Park includes warehousing facilities, trucking, rail operations, and logistics roles that will result in further employment for the southern region.
  • Onsite worker accommodation is provided to support the workforce.
  • Streamlines logistics and supply chain movements, increases and future-proofs productivity, and maintain the cost per tonne.
  • Offers customers increased capacity and the reassurance of long-term network resilience across the southern region.

Carbon Emission Reduction

Benefits:

  • The Southern Link Logistics Park will reduce over 19,000 truck movements annually from Dunedin city streets onto rail.
  • The resulting reduction in transport carbon emissions aligns with the Dunedin City Council’s commitment to Zero Carbon.
  • Today, over 350,000 tonnes of import / export products are moved by truck into Dunedin. These truck movements cover 1,160,000 kilometres, accounting for 4800 tonnes of carbon dioxide, addressing this carbon impact.
  • Reducing urban transport congestion because of fewer truck movements reduces C02.
  • By reducing the routes travelled and speeding up the transfer of goods, climate emissions are reduced.

Why here, why now?

Why is the Mosgiel site the most suitable - and why now?

  • Dunedin’s population is projected to grow to 141,606 in 2048. With growth comes opportunity, investment and the need for more infrastructure and services to meet the expectations of our community.
  • An inland logistic facility that has an adjacency to existing rail infrastructure reduces Dunedin City truck and traffic congestion.
  • Dynes Group has invested in the acquisition of the site required to establish the Southern Link Logistics Park at no cost to the city.
  • The Resource Consent report for the development is underway. There is a requirement to rezone the land from Rural to proceed with this development opportunity.
  • The new site takes the pressure off Port Otago’s congested wharf infrastructure, where reclaiming land is no longer feasible.
  • With a shortage of industrial land available in Dunedin City – the Southern Link Logistics Park releases valuable inner-city land. An important opportunity as our city aspires to our growth requirements.
  • Mosgiel is only a 32km round trip from the port to the logistics park. An alternative proposed site in Milton is 54kms, which becomes cost and time-prohibitive as a business case.
  • $200M development opportunity funded by the private sector, with direct positive impact on the region’s economy.

FAQs

The Southern Link Logistics Park is planned for the corner of Dukes and Stedman Roads, Mosgiel.

The Southern Link Logistics Park project build is planned to begin in 2025 and be completed by 2035.

The proposed site of the Southern Link Logistics Park project is rural and will need to change to industrial to proceed, the same zoning as the neighbouring property.

The Southern Link Logistics Park will be in operation 7 days a week, on completion.

Dynes Transport Group and Chalmers Properties Ltd.

The $8.2 million loan provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, through the Regional Infrastructure Fund, has been awarded to KiwiRail to support the construction of a new rail siding. This investment enables vital infrastructure that will deliver commercial benefits for KiwiRail and support the long-term success of the Southern Link Logistics Park, improving freight efficiency and unlocking regional economic growth.

Port Otago is a critical economic driver for the Otago region but is constrained by lack of landside space at Port Chalmers. The Mosgiel site offers a strategic solution that is located adjacent to the existing rail infrastructure, enabling direct and efficient freight transfer of containers via shuttle train between Port Chalmers and Southern Link. The site has been privately acquired by Dynes Group and Port Otago, at no cost to the city, ensuring no burden to Dunedin ratepayers. Southern Link provides scalable storage capacity to improve container flow and reduce congestion at the port, delivering a more resilient supply chain for our region’s exporters. It will allow containers to be staged and transported to Port Otago just-in-time for vessel arrival. Inland ports are a globally proven model—every major city in New Zealand has one, except Dunedin.

No, the long-term goal is the opposite. In Stages 1–3, truck traffic is expected to increase by just 1%, primarily from increased freight out of South and Central Otago. As the Southern Link Logistics Park evolves into Stage 4, we anticipate that continued economic growth may lead to increased freight volumes and traffic movements. While this level of growth is not expected for another 10 years or more, discussions are already underway between NZTA, local authorities, and invested community partners to support the future implementation of a heavy traffic bypass. This is a time for regional collaboration and forward thinking. Together, we can ensure this project delivers lasting benefits while planning proactively for future infrastructure needs.

We welcome regional investment and discussion around infrastructure that supports Otago’s freight future. The proposal at Milburn reflects the strong regional interest in meeting long-term logistics needs. The Southern Link Logistics Park has been in development for over five years, with active collaboration between Port Otago, KiwiRail, and Dynes Group. It is shovel-ready, supported by Government investment, and aligned with current infrastructure and planning frameworks.

Dynes Transport Group is a family-owned New Zealand logistics company, proudly founded in Dunedin in 1969, providing nationwide transport solutions across sectors such as dairy, forestry, viticulture, and bulk goods. Today Dynes has evolved into a logistics and solution architecture company. The company plans to divert a percentage of current freight volumes onto rail and is partnering to support a more efficient, lower-carbon freight future. Dynes Transport Group is investing to enable KiwiRail to grow, not compete. The Southern Link Logistics Park is about growing freight capacity through smarter multi-modal logistics, not more road pressure.