Enough interest in shares in a new irrigation scheme in the Waimate area has been reached for it to proceed and the chance to invest has been extended to allow more to subscribe.
The scheme, projected to cost about $200 million and irrigating up to 40,000ha with water from the Waitaki River, was first mooted about eight years ago as a joint project between Meridian Energy Ltd and the South Canterbury Irrigation Trust.
Hunter Downs Irrigation Limited was established to progress the scheme and chairman Andrew Fraser said its offer of shares had an excellent response, achieving the $4 million needed so work on the scheme could continue.
Subscriptions early this week exceeded the 20,000 shares required and came from farmers and landowners within the potential scheme area and some dry shareholders who did not own land but wanted the project to go forward.
Hunter Downs Irrigation has extended the offer period for its capital raising until April 17 so potential investors had the opportunity to subscribe.
''There's plenty of positive feeling out there and extending allows some people more time to complete their applications. Our one month time-frame was pretty tight,'' he said.
The extension would allow time for local corporates and councils to work through their processes if they were
to support the capital raising to ensure pre-construction work proceeded.
The company also wanted to contact landowners it had not been able to reach.
''We want to ensure everybody is as informed as possible and has the opportunity to participate,'' Mr Fraser said.
Farmers were still getting their heads around the impact of Environment Canterbury's plans to improve water quality, with the Hunter Downs scheme playing a part.
Extra water from the scheme could increase flows and help improve water quality in and around Wainono Lagoon.
The offer would contribute to a $15 million programme to determine the scheme's technical and economic viability, and to carry out further consenting, land access, constructor procurement and construction capital-raising work programmes over the next two years.
The offer is for up to 40,000 partly paid ordinary shares in Hunter Downs Irrigation Limited with an initial instalment of $25 per share, investors advised to subscribe for one share per hectare of land intended to be irrigated.
