The next stage to get approval to build a $300 million cement manufacturing plant near Weston starts in Oamaru next month before the Environment Court.
The court's decision will determine Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd's next step in deciding how to meet a growing demand for cement in New Zealand.
Despite the world economic recession, Holcim still maintains extra cement production is needed in New Zealand.
The new cement plant was "a long-term decision", research indicating the demand for cement would continue to grow at an average of 1.2% a year, Holcim said in its latest newsletter, being distributed to about 8000 homes in the Oamaru-Weston area.
Even if approval for the cement plant is upheld, Holcim still has to decide whether to build it.
That process includes reviewing the court's decision, a decision by Holcim's New Zealand board of directors whether to put the proposal to its parent board in Switzerland, and a decision by that board whether to build the plant.
The final decision by Holcim's parent board will be determined by factors such as how the option compares with other international investment opportunities, the availability of capital and New Zealand Government policies.
If it proceeds, it would take about a year to complete detailed planning before construction of the plant started.
It is expected to take about two years to build, followed by six to 12 months to test and commission the plant.
The Weston option is the preferred one of two Holcim is considering for New Zealand.
It also includes spending a further $100 million to $200 million on a new ship, providing facilities at the Port of Timaru to ship the Weston-produced cement and upgrading its national distribution system.
The other option is upgrading its Westport plant, at an estimated cost of about $100 million, and importing cement to bridge any gap in demand.
An additional $40 million would be spent on a new replacement ship.
The Weston plant would produce up to 880,000 tonnes of cement a year, Westport about 500,000 tonnes.
The Otago Regional and Waitaki District Councils granted 46 resource consents that Holcim needed for the plant in February last year.
That decision has been appealed to the Environment Court by the Waiareka Valley Preservation Society which has opposed building the plant in the Waiareka Valley.
The appeal before Judge Gordon Whiting, commissioner Charles Manning and deputy commissioner Dr Bruce Gollop is expected to take up to three weeks and be held in two stages.
The first stage starts on March 9, at the Oamaru Courthouse, and will last for three days, followed by a site visit on the fourth day.
The second starts on March 30 and will run until completed.
Evidence has been exchanged between the parties before the court hearing and experts from both sides have met to work through some of the outstanding issues.
