Overseas investment for Otakiri Springs bottling giant approved in principle

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Nongfu Spring Ltd, through the company Creswell NZ, is seeking resource consent to draw more than one billion litres of water a year.

A Chinese bottling giant has been given government approval to purchase a Bay of Plenty spring and export more than one billion litres of drinking water each year.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage, and Associate Finance Minister David Clark, have granted an application under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 for Cresswell NZ Ltd to purchase land to expand the existing Otakiri Springs water bottling plant near Whakatane.

Their approval is conditional on Cresswell NZ obtaining consent via the Resource Management Act and that 60 new jobs are created and if these jobs do not eventuate enforcement action will apply.

'This includes the possibility of requiring the company to sell the land. Budget 2018 provided an extra $7 million in new funding for the OIO to undertake compliance and enforcement work,' Eugene Sage said.

**READ MORE:

Associate Finance Minister David Clark granted an application under the Overseas Investment Act 2005 for Cresswell NZ Ltd to purchase land to expand the existing Otakiri Springs water bottling plant near Whakatane (FILE).

* Bottler's bid for non notification consent process rejected

* Chinese company aims to sell 580 million litres of NZ water a year

* ECan accused of bending consent rules**

Cresswell NZ Limited is a subsidiary of Chinese bottling giant Ngonfu Spring who have applied to draw 1.1 billion litres of water per year from the springs. Most will be exported to China.

The consent means Creswell NZ Ltd can purchase a freehold and leasehold interest in approximately 6.2 ha of sensitive land at Otakiri.

The land is classed as sensitive under the Overseas Investment Act because it is more than 5 ha of non-urban land and adjoins land held for conservation purposes.

'The OIO recommended approval as Creswell NZ Ltd met the test to provide substantial and identifiable benefits to New Zealand,' Clark said.

'Specifically more jobs, exports, greater productivity and additional capital investment for the country.'

Cresswell NZ proposes to expand the existing water bottling plant and invest more than $42.5 million over four years to upgrade the plant and establish two new bottling lines.

The expansion is projected to provide 32 jobs within two years and 60 within four years.

An overhead diagram of what the new bottling plant in Otakiri will look like if it proceeds.

'This is a substantial increase on the current eight jobs at the plant and offers employment opportunities for the Whakatane community and Bay of Plenty region,' Clark said.

Cresswell NZ's resource management act application received opposition from Ngai Tamawera hapu, Te Tawera hapu and Tuwakairora who argued fresh water has an important cultural value for tangata whenua and was an essential ingredient for life.

'This can be polluted and damaged by actions not part of the natural realm such as removal for the purposed of bottling for foreign exchange,' they submitted.

'This action directly antagonises the intentions of section 6e of the Resource Management Act being, The relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands.'

Bay of Plenty Regional Council said Cresswell NZ's resource management act application was still pending.