Official Opening Tomorrow
The Benrnore hydro-electric station and the Cook strait power cable, taking the Benrnore power to the North Island will be officially opened tomorrow by the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake).
The £48.5 million scheme began in 1958 with a diversion of the Waitaki river in preparation for the huge earth dam which is 360 feet high and contains 16.2 million cubic yards of material, making it the second largest earth dam in the Southern Hemisphere.
Benrnore supplies the North Island with a direct current link over a transmission line of 354 miles and then 25 miles of submarine cable.
What is referred to as the Cook strait cable is actually three cables laid about 1000 yards apart. One is a spare. The cable has the highest capacity of any in the world.
The new station increases New Zealand’s electrical installed capacity by about a quarter.
British, Commonwealth and Swedish con tractors will be present at the opening ceremony tomorrow, along with representatives of New Zealand contractors, the Ministry of Works and the New Zealand Electricity Department.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30750, 14 May 1965, Page 7
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178Official Opening Tomorrow Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30750, 14 May 1965, Page 7
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