Extra land is being bought for $1.64 million by Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd at the site of its proposed opencast lignite coal mine at Ngapara.
The coal mine is part of Holcim's proposal to build a new $400 million cement plant with associated quarries in the Waiareka Valley, but does not mean the project is going ahead.
The project is on hold and project manager Ken Cowie said yesterday a decision on that would still be made by Switzerland-based parent company Holcim Ltd next year.
Yesterday, the Overseas Investment Office released a decision granting consent for Holcim to purchase 196ha from Hugh Matheson at Bobbing Creek Rd, Ngapara. Consent was needed because Holcim (New Zealand) has overseas owners.
Holcim was acquiring the land to support its proposed coal mine on adjacent land, which it already owned.
Consent was granted on the basis of "substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand", including creation of jobs and additional investment.
The cement plant, at full operation, is expected to employ about 140 people. The mine would provide up to 210,000 tonnes of lignite a year to the plant.
Mr Cowie said that since 2007, Holcim had had a purchase option over the land, with either the company or Mr Matheson able to exercise that.
The land would make the coal mine development better and had always been identified as part of the mine. It was covered by resource consents already granted for the project.
Because of commercial sensitivity, he would not say whether Mr Matheson or the company had activated the option.
Asked whether the land purchase meant the plant would go ahead, Mr Cowie said nothing had changed since the company's last announcement that a decision had been delayed until next year.
Originally, Holcim had hoped to start constructing the plant this year and commission it in 2014.
However, the world economic recession and other factors led its parent company to delay decisions on building it.
