CCHL chair Bryan Pearson acknowledged the work undertaken by the consortium.
“Lyttelton Port is a strategic asset for the city and region, and there are diverse groups within our community with interests in its future,” he said.
However, Pearson said the proposal, as presented, fell short.
“Our assessment of the proposal, as presented, is it does not meet the threshold for ongoing consideration and is not sufficiently compelling to warrant further detailed investigation by CCHL, or additional consultation with [the] council, given its Letter of Expectation.”
The company said Christchurch City Council’s 2026/27 Letter of Expectation explicitly does not support leasing the port and encourages retaining a directly employed workforce.
CCHL said it also considered the Lyttelton Port Company’s (LPC) improving operational and financial performance, along with advice from the company about the resilience of its infrastructure and the leadership needed to maintain safety and efficiency.
The LPC has reported stronger financial results this year.
In February, the company announced record half-year revenue of $108.5 million and net profit after tax of $14.6m for the six months to December 31.
Pearson said CCHL continued to back the existing leadership team.
“CCHL maintains full confidence in the LPC board and management and their operation of the port, and continues to work closely with LPC in considering the port’s long-term development and associated investment.”
Responding to the decision, Tōnui said it was disappointed Christchurch had “missed the opportunity to compare two fundamentally different futures” for the port.
The consortium said its proposal would have retained public ownership of Lyttelton Port while sharing investment risk and bringing international port expertise to Christchurch.
“This was never a proposal to privatise Lyttelton Port. It was a genuine partnership that retained public ownership, embedded mana whenua [local Māori] in the future of the port, reduced risk for Christchurch ratepayers and brought world-leading operational capability to New Zealand,” Tōnui said.
The consortium also questioned CCHL’s reliance on Christchurch City Council’s Letter of Expectation, asking whether “there ever was a genuine opportunity for an alternative partnership model to be assessed on its commercial merits”.
CCHL said it would not comment further on the details of the proposal because of commercial and confidentiality considerations.
The Tōnui Consortium has been approached for comment.
Ben Tomsett is a journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.