Lengthy wait still for decision on monorail

The company behind a proposed $150 million monorail linking Queenstown to Milford Sound will have to wait until late next year to find out if it has Department of Conservation approval.

Riverside Holdings director John Beattie confirmed a revised concession application had been lodged with DOC, which would assess the proposal.

The company is hoping to carry passengers from Queenstown to Lake Te Anau via a catamaran journey across Lake Wakatipu, followed by an all-terrain vehicle trip to Kiwi Burn and a 43km monorail trip to Te Anau Downs on the Milford road. An application for an easement for the monorail across DOC land was lodged in late 2006 but a subsequent audit had highlighted various matters that needed to be covered in the environmental impact assessment.

Mr Beattie said he was confident all work that needed to be done had been completed and the ball was in DOC's court.

The company had spent "several million dollars" getting to this point and was hopeful the application would be approved, he said.

The monorail is not the only such proposal for the region, with Milford Dart looking to build a 10.2km tunnel between the Routeburn and Hollyford valleys.

Department concessions manager Colin Pemberton said Riverside's application was being reviewed and a first determination would be available about October next year.

The tunnel proposal was going through the same process and a first determination would be available in May or June, he said.

Southland Conservation Board chairwoman Viv Shaw said the board had been informed of the application at a meeting earlier this month and would be open to Riverside Holdings presenting its proposal at a future meeting.

shane.cowlishaw@stl.co.nz

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