PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2803, 28 October 1924, Page 2

PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT.

MANG.MIAO BOWER SCHEME. Wellington, October 27. The Public Works Statement was .submitted to the House to-night by Iho Hon. .1. (t. Coates, Minister of Public Works. Dealing with the Mangahao scheme, the Minister said an expenditure of £082,310 tiad been made in connection with Ibis scheme and very substantial progress has rectified.

It is now confidently estimated that power will be available at the [lower station by (he end of October. at Kbandallah by the middle of December, 1924, at. Bunnythorpe by ibe end of January, 1925, and at the other substations at, short inter vals thereafter.

Practically I lie whole of the power that can be made available from Manga lino lias now been allocated to the various oPwer Boards wkielj . an '<>■ supplied from the substations under construction. These Boards have entered into guarantees to the I ii'[ia rt mont to pay for the whole of Dm output of Mangahao Power Sta...n (24,000 K.V.A.) within five mis, and the indications are that the whole of the power available will In* taken up in less time than

Before this station becomes overloaded a start will have been made with the main Waikaremoamt genciat mg station, which is the next link in tin* Department's general s.-beme of development for the North Island.

At present the ALangaliao scheme is carrying the capital cost of an . \cessive proportion of the main irun.smission system, making the capital cost appear excessively high in ptopi.rtion to the installed plant capacity. As the scheme becomes fully loaded and connected up with \\ aikaremoana on the north, part of the capital cost of the transmission system and of some ot tin* substations will have to be adjusted to Lhe Wnikaremoana system.