Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston announced yesterday the government would invest $200,000 into the first stage of the 67km Waimate Trail.
The funding came from the $70million Major Events and Tourism Package, and would pay for the completion of stage one, a 13km section from Waimate to Waihao Forks, a statement from the minister said.
Waimate 2gether project manager Jo Sutherland said the money was the ‘‘icing on the cake’’ of the group’s funding efforts.
The majority of the project was funded through grants, sponsorship and fundraising, Mrs Sutherland said.
Construction on stage one began in February last year and it was hoped stage one would be open by late April or early May, she said.
However, part of the first stage was already open.
The project had been ‘‘two or three years in the making’’, she said.
‘‘It’s amazing how long these things take, but it’s great to see where we’ve got in that time as well.’’
