Gentailers spend $180m smoothing Waitaki consent path

Gentailers spend $180m smoothing Waitaki consent path
Lake Benmore was created when the Waitaki hydro scheme was developed. (Image: Getty)
Ian Llewellyn
Genesis and Meridian are spending more than $180 million to smooth the path of re-consenting the Waitaki hydro scheme.This includes payments to three Ngāi Tahu hapū, the Department of Conservation (DoC) and others to redress past damage in exchange for supporting the application.In a joint statement to BusinessDesk, the two companies confirmed an agreement had been reached with three hapū to support the re-consent.BusinessDesk has been told the agreement comes with a package of more than $100m, but the gentailers would not confirm this, saying...

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