Two contracts have been awarded for the final construction phase of the Te Anau wastewater upgrade project.

Downer will design and build of the wastewater treatment plant at Te Anau, while Fulton Hogan will construct the subsurface drip irrigation dispersal field at the Kepler block.

Work at both sites is scheduled to begin on 5 October.

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The total project is now forecast to cost about $25 million, with a budget of $27 million as contingency to manage the risks associated with outstanding design elements and Covid-19 implications. The original budgeted amount was $22.3 million. The Tourism Infrastructure Fund is funding $5 million of this total.

Southland District Council group manager services and assets Matt Russell says the increase is attributable to higher costs for procurement as a result of the design solution becoming more complex than originally anticipated. A protracted and expensive consenting process further added to costs.

 “When you’re procuring competitively you’re exposed to market costs and forces,” he says.

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There have been flow-on cost implications from the Covid-19 pandemic too, he says, with delays in procurement of supplies.

The 18.6km pipeline from Te Anau to the Kepler block was completed in June.

Council has been engaging with iwi and the community during development of the project.

The new wastewater treatment system is expected to be commissioned in June 2022.