Drainage Board To Seek £600,000 In Loans In 1959

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28783, 2 January 1959, Page 3

Drainage Board To Seek £600,000 In Loans In 1959

A record sum of about £600,000 will he sought as loan money by the Christchurch Drainage Board in 1959. Subscriptions to loan issues, the first of which will be offered to the investment market in April, will, supplement revenue from rates, which is expected to amount to about £500,000. Loans will be sought under three headings—the new sewage treatment station, major works, and reticulation. The treatment station construction is gathering momentum, and last month a payment of £20,000 was made to the contractor —the biggest since the job started in May. This financial year the board is raising £500,000. Its third and last stock and debenture issue, for £175,000, is already more than two-thirds filled, even though it has been offered for only a month. Two-Thirds Subscribed By Tuesday evening the loan had had £121,190 subscribed to it, and had still a month to run It is underwritten by Wellington brokers. The Government Loans Board has recently authorised the board to raise up to £900,000 for major works, but only part of this will be sought from the investment market this year. The actual amount will depend on the board’s proportioning of works, treatment station, and reticulation, finance among its total revenue. Ahead of Schedule The £900,000 loan requirement will be used in part for the completion of the northern relief sewer, which was not entirely covered by previous loans raised. The French contractor is reported to be making good progress on this job. He had finished the west, or Strowan- branch

pipelaying within the last two weeks, three months ahead of schedule, and is now cleaning up and finishing off manholes. Now, he is pushing ahead with construction of the east branch for the sewer along Rutland street. Other works envisaged under the new loan authority will cover the Wairakei road collecting sewer, which will carry out beyond the present terminal at Glandovey road to the rapidlydeveloping housing area in the north-west of Christchurch; the Sockburn collecting sewer project, which will run parallel with Blenheim road but nearer the railway line, to provide for the Sockburn township and the industrial area about it; and a series of duplications and enlargements, and pumping stations (but not reticulation) to provide for later sewering in the Hoon Hay district. Brighton Covered During last year, the Drainage Board has. with the exception of the spit area, completely covered the Brighton district with sewerage schemes. The last contract for sewerage construction in th? area was let in August and is due for completion in May. A contract let earlier is not due for completion until October. Drainage contracts were also completed in the Wainoni, Aranui, Wairakei, and Hillsborough areas last year. The contract completion date for the Bromley treatment station is November 24, 1960. The contract price of £807,057 was the biggest for a single job let by the board in its 82 years’ existence. The price includes construction, and installation of mechanical plant; but not the supply of mechanical plant which will be a separate contract, or. contracts, to the order of £2OO 000