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.
