$16m project progresses

Mike Dinsdale | 5th October 2006

Work on the biggest contract ever let by Whangarei District Council should begin soon.

Councillors yesterday dished out tenders for the $16 million third stage of the Whangarei Heads Sewerage Scheme. The project aims to reduce pollution flowing into Whangarei Harbour from septic tanks in the Heads area.

Councillors awarded the contract for building the pumping station and reticulation system to United Civil Construction. The Whangarei-based company bid the lowest amount for the tender, $14,466,761.83. The contract will be the largest ever awarded by Whangarei District Council.

A second contract was awarded to Whitaker Civil Engineering for $1,427,233 for building a wastewater storage chamber at Parua Bay.

A sewerage scheme for Whangarei Heads has been in the pipeline for almost 20 years and the first two stages are complete. Work on stage three, which will provide reticulation to McLeods Bay, Reotahi Bay, Little Munro Bay, McGregors Bay, Taurikura Bay and Urquharts Bay, should start within a month.

The scheme is being financed initially by council borrowing, but development impact fees, development contributions and existing users will pick up most of the bill, with a small common good contribution through general rates.

Connecting to the scheme will cost existing property owners $7000, plus GST, with the option of paying over five years interest-free. Future properties will have to pay $19,866 plus GST per property.

Deputy Mayor Phil Halse said procrastination over the past four or five years had seen the cost of the scheme rise and it should not be delayed any longer.

"The contractors are ready to go. It's been built with a lot of capacity and future users will be paying their way," he said.

Coastal ward councillor Robin Lieffering said Whangarei Heads residents covered by stage three had been waiting for years for the scheme to go ahead.

While they wished they could have got it for $3500 - the cost of hooking up to stages one and two - they accepted the $7000 connection cost, she said.

Veteran councillor Wally Redwood hoped that the water quality of Whangarei Harbour would improve "to the extent that this huge expense will be justified" as septic tanks were replaced.

Mayor Pamela Peters said it was important to note that the two main contractors were Whangarei firms, which would help create jobs locally.