Up to $50 million will be spent by Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd on a new ship to transport cement from either a new plant near Weston or an upgraded Westport plant.
Holcim is investigating what sort of ship it would need to replace the 32-year-old MV Westport.
Its eventual size will depend on whether Holcim builds a $300 million cement plant near Weston - its preferred option to meet New Zealand's growing demand for cement - or upgrades the Westport plant and imports cement.
The key role played by Holcim's two ships in distributing cement around New Zealand is outlined in a newsletter being circulated to about 8000 Oamaru residents this week.
A project team has worked on two designs for a replacement self-discharging bulk cement carrier which will have the capacity to deliver future cement requirements.
One is for an 8000-tonne vessel should Westport be the load port, and one for a 12,000-tonne vessel should Port of Timaru be the load port to ship cement if the Weston plant is built.
A decision is yet to be made on which new ship op-tion will be pursued.
Holcim continues to offer meetings with members of its cement supply options project team during regular visits to Oamaru.
The next stage for the proposed cement plant near Weston will be an Environment Court hearing on appeals lodged against the Otago Regional and Waitaki District Councils' decision to grant resource consents for the plant and its associated quarries in the Waiareka Valley.
Judge Gordon Whiting has been appointed for the hearing, but the date has yet to be set.