By JOEL FORD
Mount Maunganui's $1.5 million artificial surf reef has suffered a major setback after the project ran out of money and the company building it pulled out.
Bay Underwater Services had been involved in the reef's construction since the beginning but has stopped work claiming it is owed money and there are issues regarding the management of the project.
Company owner Rob Campbell has revealed his firm would no longer be working on the reef, which is about 250m offshore at Tay St and has received $300,000 of public funds from Tauranga City Council.
The reef has been hampered by problems since work started on it in November, 2005. Of this latest setback, Mr Campbell said: "We refuse to have anything more to do with the reef. It is not in our best interest to continue with it."
The Bay of Plenty Times has also discovered the trust behind the reef does not have enough money to complete the rest of the project, which is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
Despite the problems, David Neilson, the chief executive of the Mount Reef Trust, maintained the project was not in trouble and he believed it would be a success.
"There is a very short, good barrel that proves the whole thing will work perfectly," said Mr Neilson.
On the back of the withdrawal of Bay Underwater Services, Port of Tauranga will now supply divers and a barge to replace a bag on the reef's right side which was split while being filled with sand last year.
The repairs are expected to take place in the next few weeks and are being paid for with insurance money.
The port's property services manager, Maurice Hume, said only repair work would take place and there was no plan for any further work needed to complete the rest of the reef.
Another 20 per cent of the bags on the left-hand side of the structure still need to be filled before the reef is finished.
However, sand still covers a number of the bags and needs to be cleared before any filling takes place.
Mr Neilson could not put an exact figure on how much money was required to finish the reef but said about a week's worth of work was needed beyond the coming repairs.
"We haven't got enough money to go out there and carry out four or five days' additional work," he said.
Mr Neilson refused to comment on the reasons Bay Underwater Services had pulled out of the project. He said he hoped to get the rest of the money to complete the reef through fundraising but admitted that might be difficult.
"Until we actually get some results out there it's going to be pretty tricky," he said.
Dr Kerry Black of Amalgamates Solutions and Research Ltd (ASR), the company that designed the reef, said he was in no position to comment on Bay Underwater's decision to pull out of the project.
Dr Black said he was still confident the reef would be a success.
Funding for the reef has come from a host of sources, one of which was Bay Trust which donated $80,000.
Additional funding for the reef has come from sources including Pub Charity ($200,000);Lion Foundation ($50,000) Perry Foundation ($15,000) and Southern Trust ($5000).
The charitable trust's funds are sourced through private donations and returns from investments. The money is then given to support community projects such as the surf reef as well as tertiary scholarships.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said he was unaware of the situation with Bay Underwater Services and therefore could not comment directly on the matter.
In light of the city council's $300,000 donation towards the reef, Mr Crosby said he hoped it would be completed sooner rather than later.
"As part funder we expect the reef to be up and running and to its full potential as soon as possible," he said.
