HARBOR WORKS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16495, 30 July 1924, Page 7

HARBOR WORKS.

ACQUIRING THE MATERIAL

EXPEDITING OPERATIONS

A PROGRESSIVE POLICY

With the acceptance of a nmnbeir of tenders' at thcv meeting; on Monday, and . the additional tender of Messrs John Duthie and Co., of Wellington, for steel for reinforced concrete! work at £BOOO, the Harbor Board has now placed orders for practically the whole of the material required to carry out the initial work in connection with the outer harbor scheme. The loan for this work is now committed to the extent of approximately £IOO,OOO, and no more conclusive evidence could be given- that the Board is in earnest in proceeding with the work as expeditiously as possible. It is anticipated that within three months the various sections of the work will be well in hand, and the delay which has characterised the operations of the Board for some years past will be replaced by hitherto unknown activity. There are few people who realise just how much preliminary work has already been done,- but, as a matter of fact, for some months past, everything has been placed in readiness dor a concentrated effort just- as soon as the materials were ordered and assembled. As an instance, it might be stated that all the inner harbor work has been set out in accordance with the plans. From the point where the diversion wall immediately below the Kaiti bridge, the line of the training-wall has been indicated with pegs, these following down the river to a point practically at the end of the groyne, which extends from the Kaiti side almost opposite the Harbor Board office. The pegs are continued on the mud-bank on the town side of the river, the southern side of the diversion striking the shore some few chains below the footbridge. On the area near the cattle-yards work has been in progress for some time on the new slipway, excavations having been made well in advance in order that the earth should -have ample time to consolidate. The timber for the slipway itself is on order, and as soon as this arrives tho work will be completed. Timber for various sections of the work continues to arrive, and is being utilised * for the'erect ion of new buildings, wharf construction, etc. Most of this timber has been stacked on the Kaiti side, which at present resembles more than anything a' timber-yard. , As reported to the ‘ meeting on Monday the re-construction of the Kaiti wharf is progressing apace, pile-driving operations (now being proceeded with. A considerable amount of work has been done in connection with the block and pile-making yard on the Kaiti side. The area to be used is now being fenced off, and much of the required material, including the sand, shingle, cement, and some of the iron far reinforcing, can be obtained as short as required. When everything is in readiness to accept delivery of these materials, a start will be made on manufacturing tho piles, while the timber framework will be proceeded with in the meantime, and the construction of the iron frames will be/ put- in hand in ample time to allow them to be ready and waiting for the * materials. The first- of these piles to he ready—they will require about three months to season —will be utilised for flie training-wall .in mid-river, and subsequently for the walls of the diversion cut, - This work, it is anticipated, should be well in hand within a month. The Board decided at a committee meeting yesterday that the engineer should leave for Australia immediately to supervise the despatch of the Australan dredging unit, which it- is expected will be in Gisborne within two months’ time. Before' leaving Australia it will * be placed in thorough order, and upon arrival should be ready to commence operation immediately. The first- work, to be put in hand in this connection will be the dredging of the Haiti berthage, ■ which will replace the town wharves that are cut off by the diversion, while the digging of the diversion will proceed simultaneously. It- is intended that the dredging work should proceed as speedily as possible, £nd for this reason as soon as everything is working satisfactorily double shifts will be worked. The progress of these works will neces- • sarily mean the employment of a considerable amount of. labor. As was stated at the meeting of the .Board on Monday, fifty men were already employed, and others are being engaged as different ’Sections of the work are put in hand. The making of tlTe timbering and the assembling of the reinforcements for the piles will bet the first new work to require additional labor, and this wilf be followed by such- operations as the actual pile-making, dredging, and trainrng- / Wall -construction, so that during the next six months the number of hands em-

ployed should continue to increase. ! Tile fact that the Board has decided to purchase the Australian plant without first disposing of the Maui has caused n certain amount of comment and enquiry It is explained, however, that the Board’s action has everything to commend it, as the purchase of the. new plant will result in a. very substantial saying to the Board even if the Maui is not sold. It is understood there is every reason to anticipate 'that the vessel will be quitted, as thfere has been more than on© 'enquiry for it. This question was also gone into at the committee meeting yesterday, when it was decided that estimates should be obtained for putting the vessel in thorough seagoing and working order. It was- also decided that furthur information in regard to the dredge should be placed before the Napier Harbor Board, in order that any misunder- / , standing should be removed, and for this purpose the chairman and Messrs Sherratt and Williams and Dr. Collins were appointed to meet the Napier Board. In view of the decision to acquire the V Australian plant irrespective of , the sale of the Maui, some figures in regard to the deal are of interest. It is now common knowledge that the Australian plant, comprising an efficient dredge, three barges, arid a, tug, are to cost £45,000. The same plant if bought separately and specially built for the Board worild cost £30,C00 for the barges, and £6COG for the tug. The cost of a •new dredge,, similar to the Maui, was stated by the agent, for the builders to be between £50,000 and £60,000 at the present time. Taking the Maui, however, at the low price placed upon it when it was offered to the Napier Board, £27,500, the cost, of the plant, bought separately would be £35,000 for the barges and the tug, plus £27,£CO, the cost of the Maui to the loan account. 11l other words the plant for the new harbor works if bought separately would cost at the lowest figure £62,500. To this- would have to he added a number of charges, including £2OOO or £3OOO for putting the Maui in condition. On 'the other hand the Australian plant is coting £4S,CCC. plus about. £IO,OOO. I lie cost of bringing it to Gisborne, a tolal of £55,000.

These figures relate solely to the cost j of the plant. . It has a'lso to be remem- 1 belied that the acquisition of the Australian plant will mean a saving in time of anything from six to nine months, and that time is invaluable to the Board. In the first place, it has been estimated, upon actual figures, that the district is . losing £IO.OOO a month by the lack of l harbor facilities, so that in six months the loss would be £60,000. In addition 1 to that, the Board itself is losing money - in'various ways by every week of delay. !So it is that the actual cost of the plant, even if the Maui is retained, which is

unlikely, will be no greater than if additional plant- was purchased to be used in conjunction with tho Maui, while the saving of tim'e and money indirectly cannot be accurately estimated. One other outstanding point is that if a nine months’ delay took place in commencing operations it would be impossible to say what the attitude of the Board would be in the meantime. Au contraire, as long as- the Board! keeps “full steam ahead,’’ there is litt-le opportunity of steering a different course to that which lias already been set.