July 29 2009

A scaled-down version of the proposed Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation (BCI) Scheme is to be put to shareholders at a meeting in Methven tonight.

Farmers have been nervous about supporting the scheme in the current economic climate and $33 million was needed by the end of this month to begin construction.

 Company chairman John Wright said an irrigation scheme about half the size of the original project was now on the cards.

 BCI had been hoping farmers would take up six of the 17 cumecs of water it has consent to take from the Rakaia River; farmers have only bought three cumecs as part of the capital-raising share offer so far.

 Mr Wright said a new prospectus would be issued, with a tight deadline, to ensure the water take could be actioned by September 2010, when it would lapse if not being used.

 “The meeting is to update everyone on how the capital raising is going. The message is we are going to turn around a reduced-size scheme quickly and meet the September timeframe.”

 He said the smaller version had required quite a rethink on how the scheme would be funded.

 “Some of the large infrastructure we intended to put in is no longer appropriate or affordable.”

 The new version still involved injecting Rakaia water into the tail-end of the Rangitata Diversion Race; the main change would be at the river level with an intake point at Highbank rather than Happy Valley.

 Details on delivery are still being finalised, and considerable effort is being put into maintaining current pricing. Mr Wright said the main aim was to deliver water to those who wanted it, while allowing for the scheme to grow incrementally as the economic climate improved.

 “We expect it will grow by around one cumec a year. We will set it up so it is quite scaleable and incrementally add to the pumping exercise.”

 BCI’s partners – Electricity Ashburton, Trustpower and Rangitata Diversion Race Ltd – remained supportive, he said.

 “We know it is the right thing to happen, but the timing was abysmal. The main thing is, we get the water available to those who want it.”

 Mr Wright said the new prospectus would be out quickly and sent to those who had already supported the scheme. “We expect they will continue.”