Work starts on Andersons Bay Rd NPD station

Construction of a new fuel station in Andersons Bay Rd, Dunedin, is under way as Nelson Petroleum Distributors gets set to open its third Dunedin outlet in March.

The Nelson company was granted resource consent by the Dunedin City Council in September and earthworks are being carried out at the site at 223 Andersons Bay Rd, between The Warehouse and Torpedo7.

The site is about 100m from the Pak’n Save fuel station and about 300m from the Z Energy station in the same road.

The company opened an outlet in Green Island last May, where it immediately undercut prices offered by operators nearby.

The company also has another local outlet in Port Chalmers.

According to the resource consent, NPD plans to open a self-service station with six double-sided petrol and diesel pumps.

The station would be open 24 hours, seven days a week and at times there would be no staff at the site.

NPDchief executive Barry Sheridan said the site was chosen because of its accessibility.

‘‘For NPD, it is a good strategic fit with our existing network as we continue to strengthen our offering in the South Island,’’ he said.

NPD also planned to add a convenience store to the site.

Resource consent documents stated between 500 and 1000 vehicles would visit the site a day, with 80 vehicles an hour at its peak, or one every 45 seconds.

Two underground fuel tanks will be built for the station, each holding a total of 90,000 litres of the various fuels.

The site will also include a caravan waste dump station and a rubbish compound.

When NPD opened a station in Green Island this year it offered 91 octane for $2.12 when the city’s average was $2.26.

Days later it raised prices to $2.16 and the nearby Z Energy dropped its prices to $2.19 per litre.

NPD has opened 13 new outlet in the South Island, taking its total to 69.

Next year the company plans to open 18 new sites.