£11.6m Loan For Power Project

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30390, 14 March 1964, Page 14

£11.6m Loan For Power Project

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 13. Negotiations have been completed for a loan of 32.5 million dollars (about £11.6 million) from the World Bank to meet overseas costs of the inter-island power transmission project, the Minister of Finance (Mr Lake) said today.

“Final formalities including the signing of a loan agreement are being attended to in Washington by the New Zealand Ambassador,” he said. The loan will be for a period of 20 years with an interest rate of 51 per cent. Repayment of the loan will be made over a period of 18 years commencing in September, 1963. “This loan has been under discussion with the bank for some months,” said Mr Lake.

“Of our current projects, this particular one involves the highest percentage of overseas expenditure and the

bank loan will meet practically the whole of the overseas cost-”

Mr Lake said that after looking into New Zealand’s development plans for power, the bank chose this project as a suitable one for bank lending. The terms and conditions attaching to the loan were negotiated with the bank in Washington towards the end of January last and these negotiations have now been confirmed by the board of the bank.

“The major portion of this loan will be received in the coming financial year when a large part of the expenditure on the transmission project must be met. The loan will also be a valuable adjunct to our overseas reserves.”