MANGAHAO POWER

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 53, 26 November 1920, Page 8

MANGAHAO POWER

PROGRESS OF THE BIG WORK

MINISTER VISITS THE GROUND

The Minister of Public Works (Hon. J. G. Coales), who has returned lb Wellington after a visit to northern districts, toltl n Dominion reporter yesterday that he hnd made an inspection of the hydro-olecirie works at Miingnhno. Ho hnd found that satisfactory progress was being msulo. There were still difficulties to be faced, mid he hoped that some of them, at any rate, would be reduced as a result of his visit. He believed that with reasonable luck the Department would be able to deliver tho power to the consumers at the end of the • three-yenr period allowed for the work. The Department was aiming at prompt complotiton, hut some of the factors, sueli as supply of material and plant, were largely beyond its control. Tho preliminary work nt Mangahao has been much greater than people who have not been over the ground are likely to realise. Scarcely any of the. facilities required by the Department! were obtainable on tho ground, and even now some of them nre in short supply. The necessary number of huts for tho accommodation of tho workers under comfortnblo conditions lies not yet been completed. The difficulty here is lack of timber, the sawmill erected on the spot having proved unable to keep pace with the requirements of the work. But tho 4 Minister is making arrangements tha'tl are expected, to increase the output of the mill.

The road out to tho site of the first dam has been completed, ft reaches the head of an inclined tramway, runnine at a s'.'wp grade down to the bed! of Miuigahno stream. A steam plant haa been conveyed over this road and down to the. stream, where it has been erected in readiness for the task of running the nir compressors for the tunnel and the coiicre'.t-niixer for the dam. Tha site'of this dam is far out in the virgin bush, and the erection of. the steam plant is an important stage in the work. The. Minister staves that both the dam sites have proved l rather disappointing. Exploration proved that the ground was not as good as hnd been anticipated, and it is thought thatl the concrete work will have to go down forty odd feet in order to get firm bottom on the east side of the Mnngnhno stream. However, good progress has been made with preparations for the dam. The diversion of the stream during the construction of the dam is another task. The engineers expect to have both the dams finished in good time. Two tunnels, with a fcotial length of two miles and a quarter, have to 1m bored for the transmission of the water from the first lake to the 6econd lake, and from the second' lake to the powerhouse on the Shannon side of the hills. The tunnel work is to begin early in the New Year. The Minister proposes to let a co-operative contract to experienced miners for this part of tHie work. The question of price hns not yet been discussed, and the miners will wish to look over tho work before they come to terms, They ought not to have difficulty in.completing the tunnels in the time allowed. Mr. Coates met representatives of the local Wies at Palmerston and elsewhere, and discussed with them the arrangements for reticulation of tlhe districts. The idea underlying the.Act is that special power boards Bhnll bo formed, to operate over fairly large districts, buying the power in bulk from the Government, and distributing it where it is required by the consumers. The suggestion of the Department is that a Manawatu power board should include Palmerston borough; Feilding borough, Manawatu county, Kiwitea, county, Oroua county, Pohangina county, and Kairanga countv, with a total population of 32.38-2. He found that somo of the local bodies were disposed' to undertake tlieir own reticulations. _ The Minister's view, backed by the opinion of the experts, is that separate reticulations in relatively small areas will prove much more expensive, and possibly less efficient, than larger reticulations. Tha point is tb bo further discussed.