BERTHAGE AT BLUFF

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29367, 21 November 1960, Page 14

BERTHAGE AT BLUFF

Request For Alternatives

(New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, Nov. 20.

Consolidated Zinc has asked for plans of alternative schemes to be prepared for berthage facilities to serve an aluminium smelter on Tiwai Point.

The Southland Harbour Board’s chief engineer (Mr D. H. S. Mason) has been asked to prepare the plans. Mr Mason saio tonight there was a considerable amount of work involved and the preparation of the plans was likely to take some time.

“However, we can plan a harbour faster than they can plan a smelter. Berthage is wanted for two ships,” says Mr Mason. Investigations into several areas of the harbour were completed recently. Tiwai Point is a windswept knuckle on the north of the entrance of Bluff harbour. However, it offers good foundation conditions and probable economy of development. It is about a mile wide and the 9000 acres in the area include plenty of level land for allied industry or for expansion by the company, which initially will need 350 to 400 acres. Mr Mason said there were two main harbour alternatives. The first is a five-mile long channel around the upper harbour to a marginal wharf along the foreshore at Tiwai Point. As ships were likely to draw up to 30 feet, much dredging would be involved.

The other main alternative was a long jetty extending from Tiwai Point to the edge of suitable deep water about 3000 feet off, and about opposite the present main wharves. Raw materials for the smelter could be unloaded from ships into a conveyor system on the jetty and pumped to silos on tlie foreshore. A viaduct from Tiwai Point over the neck of the Awarua Bay channel could give access from the smelter to the Awarua Bay road leading to the Bluff highway near Awarua.