Kia ora koutou,
CEDA’s vision for Manawatū is ambitious: New Zealand’s most progressive region by 2025.
For this to occur, our growth rate must continue to trend above the national average. It also means that our growth must be based on skills and knowledge that raises employment and incomes and addresses the social, cultural, and environmental needs of our community.
Overall, our economy is in the best health it has been in years. During the 2018/19 year, the Manawatū region enjoyed strong economic growth, consistently outperforming the national average GDP growth.
Our population growth remains solid, consumer spending shows the confidence of residents and reflects the strong support for our local business community. Visitor spending continues to rise, and the construction sector is enjoying the benefits of a buoyant economy that is showing no signs of slowing, with at least $3.5 billion of public and private investment planned for the city and district over the next decade.
At CEDA we are focused on encouraging business investment and expansion, along with?labour?market development, in order to facilitate the significant growth opportunities that are upon us.
This includes the large infrastructure projects such as Te Ahu a Tūranga and the KiwiRail multi-modal distribution hub. Another exciting development is the FoodHQ-ledagrifood precinct, which builds on our existing world class capability in the food science sector and is a catalyst for our ambition to be recognised as one of the top three agrifood hubs in the world.
In presenting the CEDA Annual Report for the 2018/19 year and reflecting on the outcomes we’ve achieved for the community, I would like to acknowledge the support of our shareholder Councils and those we work in close partnerships with: Iwi, The Factory, Sprout, FoodHQ, the Manawatū Chamber of Commerce, Massey University, UCOL, IPU New Zealand, Talent Central and the wider stakeholder community, to name a few.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank the enthusiastic and passionate team at CEDA for their commitment to high quality work and outcomes for the region.
He waka eke noa, we are all in this together.
Ngā mihi,
Malcolm Bailey
CEDA Board Chair
