Big geothermal contracts let

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 26

Big geothermal contracts let

PA Wellington Big contracts for the Ohaaki geothermal power station, have been let to Japan and Italy. ..

The Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, has announced that $25 million in contracts have gone to the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan and to the Franco Tosi Industriale of Italy. Mitsubishi will build two 46-megawatt turbine generators costing $12.5 million. Franco Tosi will build the steam condensing and gas extraction plant for the station. Mr Birch said that no New Zealand' bids had been received for the turbines which were “highly specialised and complex items of plant” outside the capability of New Zealand manufacturers. The New Zealand content

of the Franco Tosi contracts would be worth more than $2 million. ■: . The Italian' tender had incorporated more local content than any other and officials would try to increase domestic content further, he said. ,Every effort was made to include New Zealand contractors where they had the capacity and expertise to contribute to plant and equipment contracts. “Both Mitsubishi and Franco Tosi are world leaders in geothermal power technology and their experience will be pooled with that of the New Zealand engineers at nearby Wairakei. This will increase our overall expertise in this field. “It will also mean an economical and reliable power station will be built at Ohaaki, which will meet

stringent environmental standards,” Mr Birch said. Satisfactory counter-pur-chasing agreements, covering New Zealand export products, should be concluded with both countries.

“Total cost of the power station and the development of the Broadland’s geothermal field would be about $230 million, with the power station complete by 198,8. “The total expected equipment cost is about $BO million. Nearly half of this, $37 million, will be bought in New Zealand. “The site construction, of about $lOO million, will be jointly managed by New Zealand Electricity and the Ministry of Works and Development. More than half of this site work will go to New Zealand private contractors,” Mr Birch said.