The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has announced $520,000 for the Hurunui Water Project (HWP) through the Irrigation Acceleration Fund (IAF).
The funding would help restart the HWP by supporting its initial steps programme focused on refining the project’s layout, scoping the comprehensive work programme, and re-engaging landowners and shareholders following the lengthy consenting process that put the project on hold.
MPI has also reserved a further IAF grant of $3.3 million to support a stage one full feasibility work programme.
That funding was conditional based on the outcomes of the initial steps programme.
HWP chief executive Alex Adams welcomed the announcement.
“We’re very pleased to have signed a new IAF agreement with MPI which now enables us to get started on the project feasibility work needed to take the scheme forward,” Adams said.
“Now that we have the consents in hand we are keen to progress the project development work that MPI is co-funding.”
Adams said it had been 2009 and 2011 since the consent application stage.
“So we’re talking with our shareholders to gather their thoughts on what has changed in relation to farm irrigation.
“Once we have had those conversations, the engineering and scheme layout work will follow on,” he said.
The funding and indication of MPI support through the full feasibility stage would take the scheme to construction contract ready, water user agreement stage late in 2017.
MPI director general Martyn Dunne said the IAF helped support the development of irrigation infrastructure proposals to the stage where they were investment ready.
“Through the IAF we are backing the HWP to give effect to their consents and get the scheme under way.
“IAF is a mechanism we use to support sustainable primary sector growth in the regions, helping to achieve the government’s goal of doubling the value of primary industry exports by 2025,” Dunne said.
HWP has the support of landowners across 42,000ha, most of which have no current access to water for irrigation.
