THE ARAPUNI CONTRACT

Otago Witness, Issue 3671, 22 July 1924, Page 17

THE ARAPUNI CONTRACT

PORTON OF PLANT FROM SWEDEN. LONDON, July 14. The city editor of The Times says that four different groups tendered for the Arapuni contract. He understands that a Swedish electrical firm is supplying a portion of the plant required by the Sir W. G. Armstrong-Whitworth for the scheme. He suggests that the New Zealand Government should raise a loan in London later for the purpose of paying the contractors. In a statement in the House on Friday the Minister of Public Works (Mr J. G. Coates) said that after examination of tlve tenders it was found that the cheapest alternative one, which at the same time was absolutely satisfactory from a tecnnical point 01 view, was that of the Sir W. G. Armstrong-Whitworth Co. at £1,175,652. Their price was within less than 1 per cent, of the departmental estimate. ASSISTANCE FROM SWEDEN. NO ALTERNATIVE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON. July 15. It is a fact that some of the electrical equipment for the Arapuni scheme is to be manufactured by the Swedish General Electric Company. Although in a matter of such a huge contract it is a cardinal principle that New Zealand prefers to have such work carried out by British workmen, it appears that in this instance there was no alternative but to assign this portion of the manufacture to Sweden, as British firms wore not catering for this particular branch of high-powered electrio plant. Tile recommendations of the engineers were strongly in favour of allocating a small but very important part of the work to the Swedish General Electrio Company, which, it is stated, is one of the very few firms in the world that hat had experience in the class of electrical equipment required.