The installation of a 70,000 litre underground tank is the first tangible sign of a major upgrade at Double S Motordome service station at Westmere.
Owner Ray Stevens decided on a $500,000 upgrade of his business earlier this year, his 30th in the service station on SH3 just north ofWanganui.
Currently, the forecourt houses three separate tanks, but the new solitary fibreglass tank will do the job of all three.
Mr Stevens said the fibreglass tank was divided in three with a reservoir for 35,000 litres of diesel fuel, another to carry 25 litres of 91 octane petrol and the third holding 10,000 litres of 95 octane.
The new tank will "float" in pea metal, meaning potential damage would be all but eliminated in an earthquake, letting the tank ride out the shake.
BP is responsible for removing the existing fuel tanks and pumps, and once that was done new lines and pumps would be installed in the refurbished forecourt.
Mr Stevens said he could not confirm yet if the business would continue retailing BP fuels.
"I'm still negotiating with a couple of companies, and nothing has been signed on the dotted line regarding a supplier at this stage," he said.
He said when the new tank was installed and the old tanks, lines and pumps removed, technicians would link up the new equipment.
"I don't know how long that will take, and there will be some down time when we have to close, but I don't expect that to be too long a period," he said.
Tests will be carried out to see if any contaminants have leached into the ground over time.
