Dannevirke: Payout boosts council coffers

The Tararua District Council (TDC) has received cash and assets valued at more than three quarters of a million dollars.

The Tararua District Council (TDC) has received cash and assets valued at more than three quarters of a million dollars from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the liquidators of Infracon, the roading company which collapsed in August 2014.

The payout of $671,850.99 in cash and assets valued at $56,135.76 follows the wind up of the company, which was 66 per cent owned by the council.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council owned a 34 per cent stake in the roading company and it is estimated it will receive cash of $299,142.48, along with an asset distribution on top of this.

The Tararua District Council has said it will allocate the money against its long-term debt, incurred on capital projects.

Before settlement was reached there were extensive negotiations between the Tararua District Council and PwC. Wins for TDC included $3838.59 for the reconnection of power to Infracon's Woodville depot, $30,043.16 for pavement rehabilitation on Route 52, following failure of the surface, $51,507.89 for the clean-up of Infracon's Tahorati site and environmental testing.

The liquidators waived claims against the council of $47,846.83 because of a lack of evidence.

In August 2014, the Infracon board, led by Tararua District mayor Roly Ellis the company's interim chairman at the time, recommended the company be put into liquidation because of five previous years of losses and a poor cashflow which meant the company could not continue to trade.

The liquidators later sold Infracon to Higgins Aggregates Limited as a going concern, and Downers subsequently entered a roading alliance with TDC for the upkeep and maintenance of our district's roading network.