The consortia bidding to lead Hawke’s Bay’s largest construction project met locals at Waipawa.
Leading European contractor Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) and Hawkins Infrastructure, New Zealand’s largest privately owned construction company, have joined forces to bid for the design and construction of the scheme.
OHL Hawkins bid manager Steve Livesay outlined the opportunities and potential, acknowledging that “a reliable source of water is the key to sustainable farming”.
“Our team understands that water needs to be used more efficiently on farms and we are committed to working with farmers to develop the concepts. We want to work with farmers to drive the development and change the way water is managed in CHB.”
The proposed scheme includes a 90 metre-high dam, which will store 90 million m3 with potential to irrigate much more land in the drought prone region.
“Communities which have water storage schemes have benefitted hugely, directly through employment and indirectly through exports and economic growth,” says Livesay.
Central Hawke’s Bay farmer, George Williams says he is excited about the water storage scheme as it will boost his production.
“I will be able to irrigate a wider variety of crops. At the moment I can only grow peas and barley. I can’t get the contracts to grow specialist vegetable crops because we don’t have certainty on water. We are excited…. We have so much flat productive land that is underutilised in Hawke’s Bay. Irrigation is the way forward.”
Also part of the OHL Hawkins consortia is The Water Infrastructure Group (WIG) responsible for getting the water to the farm gate, in charge of the design and construction of the secondary distribution.
New Zealand manager Aynsley Griffith says the scheme will unlock big opportunities for intensive cropping and dairy farming.
“We have built irrigation schemes in Canterbury which have unlocked new farming opportunities such as dairy and specialist cropping. We have seen the spin-offs it creates for other farmers who will need to support the new dairy farms. Certainty of water will also help farmers clinch specialist cropping contracts.”
The OHL Hawkins joint venture is expected to provide massive employment for the Hawke’s Bay region. A workforce peaking at about 200 is expected to be working on the project.
“We are dedicated to employing local sub-contractors. We won’t bring an army of workers with us from Auckland. We want to employ locals so money is injected back into the local economy,” says Livesay.
“The venture strongly reflects a commitment to achieve a financially viable, minimal risk project, built to a high standard in a realistic time frame giving long term value for money,” he says.
