More likely, someone got a kickback.

However, this was a good time to do it, before inflation
takes away the value of the money. In another year, that
amount won't buy a cup of coffee.

"Dave" wrote

"Bart Senior" .@. said:


No kidding. It can only be good to keep harbors
and marinas dredged.

While I share that sentiment, this looks like a clear case of opportunism.
Somebody with an interest in having a convenient place to park his boat
seized on the visit to get what he wanted. Clearly it wasn't necessary.
There are plenty of places that could have put up the Kiwis in the
immediate
vicinity of the City without have to do any special dredging..