THE Whanganui District Council has been urged to seriously consider an industry-promoted alternative to its $42 million wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), because its supporters claim the option could save the city millions in build and operational costs.
Whanganui businessman Neville Johnson said the alternative plant would cost $18 million, could be built in a year and cost $1 million annually to operate.
Mr Johnson has extrapolated figures of running the WWTP and said they highlighted the huge discrepancy in running costs between an $18 million plant and a $42 million one.
He said running costs for the cheaper plant (over 25 years) would total $25 million while the council's favoured option would total $175 million.
Mr Johnson said he became embroiled in the WWTP debate because an inter-island ferry service he has been working on would tap into local industries such as Affco as a major commercial customer. He's the sole director of Midwest Ferries, a company he set up some years ago with a view to starting an inter-island service between Whanganui and Motueka.