Timaru, Chch leaders for big factory

Press, 2 October 1987, Page 3

Timaru, Chch leaders for big factory

Timaru and Christchurch are two main contenders for the site of a multi-million dollar titanium dioxide factory being considered by a big New Zealand com-

pany. The member of Parliament for Timaru, Mr Maurice McTigue, said from Wellington yesterday that the company would decide this month whether to build a $26 million demonstration plant to convince consumers that titanium dioxide was a top-quality product If this plant went ahead and proved successful, a world-scale factory would be built in either Timaru, Christchurch, Nelson or Wellington. At this stage Timaru and Christchurch are the front runners. Tipping the scales in their favour are the two cities’ port facilities, water supplies, proximity to hydro-elec-tric power, and access to vast bauxite deposits on the West Coast Mr McTigue said the main difference between the two cities was whether the company decided to rail bauxite to Christchurch or ship it to Timaru. He was optimistic about Timaru’s chances. “Timaru has a proven record In handling bulk cargo with a quick turnround rate. I view the whole thing optimistically, provided we do the best job we can in presenting our case, as we did for the proposed aluminium smelter several years ago,” he said.