Sharechat Logo

Proposed Ngawha wood mill mothballed by government

Tuesday 6th December 2016

Text too small?

Plans to build a new wood processing facility at Ngawha in Northland have been put on ice by Northland Inc, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry for Primary Industries. 

It follows the publication of a study into the potential project by independent consultants Indufor, which looked at the local impact, resource availability and market demand for an integrated sawmill and mechanical pulp mill at Ngawha. 

Dr David Wilson, CEO of Northland Inc, argued the decision not to proceed is the right one. 

“While the study does identify potential, we have decided not to continue with further investigations at this stage. This is in part due to uncertainties arising from the Electricity Authority’s Transmission Pricing Methodology review and because of concerns raised by industry that need to be addressed,” he said. 

The Electricity Authority's review is considering the allocation of transmission costs and in May this year proposed raising the cost of bills in Auckland and Northland, to reflect the benefits of recent grid updates. 

Indufor's report argued a mill would benefit the region through the provision of new jobs, and subsequent economic benefits, would not compete with existing wood processors and reduce heavy log traffic through the region. It also said there was sufficient resource in the area to develop the industry,  

The report did note that some entities argued the project should be broadened to include other aspects such as the supply chain, integration of resources and collectivisation concepts. 

The authors note, "the sentiments indicate that any tangible development of a new wood processing facility (whatever the mill concept) should be considered in the context of the aspirations and desires of Northland's forest resource owners."

 

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

MPG - Metroglass clarifies media statements by Crescent Capital
VTL - Takeovers Panel orders Empire to reimburse Vital's expenses
March 14th Morning Report
SKT - Sky secures iconic sports rights
RYM - Ryman completes Retail Entitlement Offer
TEM - Transaction in Own Shares
FPH launches F&P Nova™ Nasal mask in NZ and AU
Fonterra announces changes to management team
March 12th Morning Report
WHS FY25 Interim Results teleconference details