ARAPUNI RESTORATION

Waipa Post, Volume 43, Issue 3328, 28 July 1931, Page 4

ARAPUNI RESTORATION

MINISTER SATISFIED WITH* PROGRESS.

TOTAL OF 600 MEN EMPLOYED.

(Bv Telegraph. Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Monday.

“Provided nothing unforseen occurs the work of restoring the Arapuni hydro electric works will be completed in the time originally estimated,” said the Hon. W. B. Taverner, Minister of Public Works, this morning. Mr Taverner said the work was proceeding expeditiously, and at the present time there were 600 men employed on 23 separate jobs. Tenders aggregating approximately £60,000 had been accepted for the material required for the important work of lining the head race. Paving blocks were to be manufactured by the Napier Concrete Co., and a larg6 quantity of bitument for waterproofing would be supplied by the Neuchatel Asphalting Co. A tender had also been accepted for steel plates for use in the bituminous mastic. With the supply of these materials work would be pushed on actively. The concreting of the falls was well under way, and it was not anticipated that any difficulties would now be met with, in this particular section, which was highly important to the success of the scheme. Mr Taverner said the grouting operations had been very extensive, and many thousand of feet of group holes had been bored and filled with cement under pressure, reinforcement being added with thin steel rods. Commenting on the Minister’s statement, the chairman of the Auckland Electric Power Board, Mr W. J. Holdsworth, said the estimated time for the completion of the reconstruction work would expire in June or July of r.ext year. “It is most gratifying,” he added, “to hear that there is a prospect of the work being finished on time. All I can say is that I hope that when Arapuni commences to generate again it will give permanent satisfaction. Coal generation does not suit our requirements at all.”