A $17million loan by the Waitaki District Council to help fund a 10,000ha expansion to a North Otago irrigation scheme was approved yesterday.
The decision yesterday delighted North Otago Irrigation Company chief executive Robyn Wells, who thanked the council for its support.''
We will deliver as we promised,'' she said.
Updating councillors on the development of the expansion project, Mrs Wells said it was ''on track''.
This month, the first of the expansion shares were issued.
Some of the pipe for the expansion was being manufactured in Turkey and the first shipment was in transit.''
They've got some very large factories over there [in Turkey] producing a lot of pipe - they can do it very quickly,'' she said.
There will also be some development of pipe locally, including by Gillies Metaltech.
Installation of the pipe is programmed to start in August and possession of the site for the rest of the expansion has been handed over to North Otago Irrigation Company construction partner McConnell Dowell.
''They are on site and we've got quite a bit of heavy machinery there, so we're about tripling the size of our head pond,'' she said.
''We're just confirming some final details around access, in terms of when we can access the land, and some final land ownership issues, just around riverbeds and things like that.''
Crs Bill Kingan and Jim Hopkins both expressed their support for the expansion, noting the possibilities that extended far beyond dairying.
Mayor Gary Kircher said the expansion was going to be ''marvellous'' for North Otago and the Waitaki district.
Apart from the council loan, stage 2 is also being funded by farmers and a loan from ASB bank, which has been involved with the company from the start.
