Almost 200 submissions on the Milford Dart Ltd Dart Passage Tunnel concession application were received by the Department of Conservation on Monday afternoon, taking the total number to 1235.
Doc spokesman Reuben Williams, of Wellington, said the next step was to analyse the submissions and arrange a hearing for those wanting to present theirs to a panel. Dates and locations for the hearings had not been confirmed yet.
Mr Williams said the panel considering the submissions would then make a recommendation to a "decision maker" delegated by Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson.
Meanwhile, in Queenstown last night about 50 people turned out for a public meeting on Riverside Holdings Ltd's proposal to construct a $150 million, 43km monorail from the Mavora River to Milford Rd at Te Anau.
The Fiordland Link Experience would include a catamaran voyage across Lake Wakatipu, an all-terrain ride on back-country roads and the monorail trip.
Riverside Holdings Ltd director John Beattie told the crowd economic development was something Te Anau needed to debate. A public meeting held in the resort on Monday by Riverstone attracted about 200 people.
Riverside Holdings executive chairman Bob Robertson said there had been about an hour of questions from the floor.
The questions focused on people who "will be affected", for example, those who enjoyed hunting and tramping.
Questions in Queenstown last night primarily related to how many trips a day the monorail would have to make to accommodate the eventual target of 1 million passengers, how the monorail would be built and where power would be sourced.
Submissions on the FiordlandLink Experience close on March 19.
