Canterbury irrigation schemes recognised

BY MARTA STEEMAN

Two controversial Canterbury irrigation schemes have come out winners in a competition for projects judged to have the potential to make $1 billion each in sales within 20 years.

Two other projects, a central-city village for international students and a whitebait-farming proposal, were also recognised.

The $150 million Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme (CPW), now a cut-down irrigation project after widespread community opposition, and the Hurunui Water Project, were judged as having big potential.

Together, the two want to irrigate more than 100,000 hectares of farmland in central and north Canterbury.

They involve land acquisition and the construction of canals and a dam.

The competition, which drew 18 entries, was the brainchild of University of Canterbury vice- chancellor Dr Rod Carr.

The winners receive up to 50 days free professional help each, worth about $140,000, to further project development and confirm feasibility.

The other two winning proposals are a $100m village for international students, east of Colombo St, possibly near the Turners & Growers area, and a whitebait farming and aquaculture project requiring a four-kilometre canal between Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth.

The village is a joint proposal from Canterbury University, Lincoln University and the Christchurch Polytechnic. The aquaculture project involves Ngai Tahu.

The competition idea, which came out of the Canterbury employment summit last year, is backed by the Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce and the Canterbury Development Corporation.

The projects had to demonstrate the potential to generate $100m of revenue within five years and $1b within 20 years, but needed professional help to develop.

That could include feasibility studies, and legal and financial advice and project management.

The promoters of the competition want Canterbury's water resources developed.

Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said: "We spend too much time in Canterbury saying why we can't do things and not enough time thinking about why we should do them and the consequences that that has for enriching our community."

Two judges had links to the winners.

Townsend said Carr did not assess the tertiary village concept when he was a judge in the first round.

Ruth Richardson, a judge in the second and final round, declared a conflict of interest with her directorship of Synlait, a Dunsandal milk processor which has a joint irrigation project with CPW. She did not assess the CPW entry, Townsend said.

While Keith Turner, the former chief executive of Meridian, is not linked to any winners, he is the chairman of a new dairy company, Oceania Dairy, seeking to build a dairy factory near Waimate.

Townsend and businessman Philip Carter were judges in round 1 along with Carr. Turner and ACC chairman John Judge were judges in round 2, along with Richardson.

Canterbury Water Rights Trust chairman Murray Rogers said the award for the Hurunui project pre- empted the work in the Canterbury water management strategy.

"There is quite a lot of resistance in the community throughout the region to the structures that are proposed on the Hurunui River system and it is inappropriate for that scheme in its current form to go ahead outside of the considerations of the Canterbury water management strategy," he said.

Rosalie Snoyink, of Malvern Hills Protection Society, which opposes the CPW project, said the award was "a misuse of university resources".

"There seems to be an agenda here dominated by agribusiness," she said.

AT A GLANCE

* Central Plans Water: A $150 million construction of a headrace and canals to irrigate 60,000 hectares between the Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers. Promoters say it will result in a $263m-a-year increase in direct and indirect agricultural production, and a boost to annual exports of $328m, so a benefit of $591m a year.

* Hurunui Water Project: Involves building a dam on the Hurunui River and creating a seven- kilometre lake to irrigate 42,000ha. Promoters say $300m will be generated each year from agricultural and electricity production.

* A $100m international student village to help attract 1000 more tertiary students to Canterbury and add $30m a year and jobs to the local economy, and help revitalise the city.

* The Ellesmere "Te Ao Hou" project proposes to use solar technology to turn waste runoff from irrigation into zooplankton as fish food for whitebait farming and other aquaculture. It involves building a four-kilometre canal between Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth. It could also be a rowing venue.

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