Ruataniwha dam $14m write-off
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s decision to write-off $14 million spent trying to develop an irrigation scheme for the Ruataniwha Plains doesn’t mean the project won’t be built eventually, one councillor says.
The council voted to take its auditors’ advice and write off the investment made by its commercial arm, Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company, trying to establish the scheme in Central Hawke’s Bay.
While there is general agreement the drought-prone Ruataniwha catchment needs a water storage solution, debate has raged for several years over the council’s backing for a proposal to build a dam and create a massive reservoir in the foothills of the Ruahine Range.
The final blow to the project was a July Supreme Court decision ruling a land-swap required to free up Ruahine conservation estate land required for the scheme had not been legal.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting, councillor Debbie Hewitt, who represents Central Hawke’s Bay where support for the project was strongest, said the write-off decision was inevitable given the ‘‘tide had been turning for some time’’ against the scheme.
The decision would mean the loss of ‘‘desperately’’ needed employment opportunities, she said.
‘‘It’s a sad day in terms of where we’ve landed with this project. I do believe it will go ahead in one vehicle or another.’’
Hewitt said with the Government supporting irrigation schemes and an institutional investor having done significant due diligence on the project she believed it would eventually progress ‘‘and it’s going to be probably far better off without council as a cornerstone investor in terms of getting on and the project being a success’’.
Councillor Paul Bailey said the demise of the scheme was a ‘‘salutary lesson’’ for the council in terms of any of its future investments.