Water utility Watercare is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for construction of the new Central Interceptor wastewater project in Auckland, New Zealand.
Bids will be invited for the construction of the Central Interceptor in two stages:
EOI – open from 20 October 2017, and will pre-qualify up to four contractor consortia. Request for Proposal – held during 2018, to award a contract for construction of the works.
The EOI will be released via Watercare’s e-procurement portal, TenderLink.
Once completed, the Central Interceptor will increase the capacity of Auckland’s wastewater network.
An earth pressure balance (EPB) tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be used during construction, linking the 4.5 m diameter pipe to 4.4 km of sewers, ranging in size from 2.1 to 2.4 m in diameter.
The tunnel will be constructed between 15 and 110 m underground and will run for approximately 13 km between the suburbs of Western Springs and Mangere.
The TBM will be driven through weak sandstone and may encounter mixed face materials in Auckland’s geology, which is overlain with volcanic soils and rock.
The southern end of the tunnel will extend through marine and alluvial sediments, and then under the Manukau Harbour.
The main tunnel will terminate at a lift pump station that will be constructed at the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Shafts for the station will be constructed using a D-Wall method and feature a dual cell configuration approximately 40 m deep; the cells will be 12 m and 26 m in diameter.
The pumps will deliver up to 6 m3/sec through two 1.4 m diameter high density polyethylene rising mains into the treatment plant.
Connections into the existing network built under urban central Auckland will be made via 16 cascade drop shafts that are between 25 and 70 m deep, ranging in diameter from 3 to 12 m.
Land for the shafts – which has already been designated to parks – is owned by Watercare, or its parent organisation Auckland Council.
An option exists to dispose of tunnel spoil at a landfill operation managed by Watercare.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2019 and to be completed by 2025.
For more information visit the Watercare website.
| A Trenchless release || October 11, 2017 |||
Vector is looking to drive new innovation in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle sector by not only providing charging solutions but also turning them into power sources.
"We see potential for EVs to become mobile energy sources and a key part in making our network smarter and more resilient," chief networks officer Andre Botha said in an emailed response to questions.
The latest data from the Ministry of Transport shows there are now about 4,900 light EVs on the road up from almost 2,000 a year ago. While the numbers are pushing higher, Botha said the cars aren’t putting pressure on the grid as their contribution to demand is small but "we are developing smart solutions" to ensure that doesn't happen. The government is aiming to double the number of electric vehicles in New Zealand every year to reach approximately 64,000 by 2021.
Among other things, Vector is closely monitoring existing public charging stations to get data on usage patterns and wants to "build flexible customer-focused networks that are accommodative to this disruptive technology," he said.
Vector has been on expanding its reach outside its dominant regulated electricity and gas distribution which faces smaller returns, branching out into telecommunications, smart meters, battery storage, solar and home ventilation.
Botha said Vector now has 18 rapid charging stations, plus another nine standard chargers. EV users do not currently have to pay to use them. A car takes an average 15-to-25 minutes at a rapid charger and six-to-eight hours at a standard charger.
"Between July 2016 and June 2017, these chargers have seen over 22,700 rapid electric vehicle charging sessions, delivering 180.6MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity to EV users. That’s more than 195,641 kilograms of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions saved compared with using a petrol-powered vehicle," he said.
While different electricity retailers are offering night rate specials to avoid congestion in peak hours, Vector is going one step further and implementing so-called Vehicle-to-Grid technology, or V2G "which realises the potential of an EV to be a mobile power source," Botha said. It is currently pioneering the technology, using its EV fleet - which will soon by 100 percent of its corporate pool. Similar trials are underway in Denmark, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands, he said.
The vehicle charges overnight and then its stored power can be used as a cheaper power source during peak hour consumption and as a way to power homes during outages. A second-generation Nissan Leaf with a 20 kWh (kilowatt hour) battery could power the average household for 10 hours on a full charge, he said.
Given most cars are parked for the majority of the time "people could charge up their car batteries overnight with cheaper energy and then use them as power boosts when needed, or in the morning and evenings when energy costs more," he said.
According to Botha, Vector will be offering V2G to customers in the near future.
Also on the innovation front, Vector is looking at how EVs could improve the resilience of the network as the impact of climate change makes extreme weather like storms or droughts more common.
"As EVs become a key component of the transport network, the need for resilient energy supply is going to become more and more important," he said.
Vector is also investigating end-of-life uses for EVs when batteries are no longer effective at powering the vehicle. Botha said one idea is to group ex-EV batteries into mobile power supply units which could replace generators as temporary power sources - for example when network maintenance is going on.
| A Sharechat release || October 11, 2017 |||
Tracking aircraft maintenance just got easier through Spidertracks' cloud partnership with Aeronet writes Rob O'Neill in Reseller News.
Two New Zealand aviation technology developers have teamed to tackle one of the most complex and time-consuming problems in aviation: tracking and automating aircraft maintenance and flight logging.
Spidertracks, based in Auckland's Karangahape Road, already manufactures and sells on-board satellite tracking devices, dubbed "Spiders", though a global network of resellers.
Now it has teamed with Cambridge-based cloud fleet management software company Aeronet to automate the tracking process and eliminate reams of paper, ad hoc spreadsheets and manual data entry.
The new service, prosaically called Maintenance Tracking, uses data from the Spiders integrated with Aeronet’s API.
"It takes all of the admin out of what was once tedious and time-consuming and puts that time and effort back into the hands of operators, allowing them to focus on maximising productivity and growing their businesses," Spidertracks says in a blog post.
Fixed-wing aircraft equipped with Spiders just need to be signed up sign up for Maintenance Tracking while helicopters need a new Spider 8 device.
Spidertracks and Aeronet launched Maintenance Tracker at the National Business Aviation Association conference in Las Vegas this week.
Spidertracks’ chief marketing officer Todd O’Hara said allowing Spider Events and Maintenance Tracking to automate this area of customers’ operations means they have one less moving part to keep tabs on.
“For most operators, the data is already there. It was just a case of finding what else we were able to do with it that would provide more value to our customers," he said.
An early user, Canada-based flight training, aircraft charter, aircraft maintenance, and pipeline surveillance operation Synergy Aviation, said the system allowed maintenance to be performed "live".
“This is the only software I’ve found that works for helicopter operations where maintenance is regularly performed in the field," said Synergy director of maintenance Marc Hanatschek.
Spidertracks’ CEO Dave Blackwell said Maintenance Tracker was a milestone towards providing a broader range of services for customers.There’s been an increasing desire from customers to use Spider data to provide more value for their businesses, he said.
“We see a lot of examples where aircraft operators are having to work in disparate systems and duplicate data entry in an effort to get the job done. What we’re doing here is automating these work flows and integrating systems to provide greater efficiency and more reliable data, which will ultimately deliver significant cost savings.”
Spidertracks was founded by James McCarthy and other family members and associates after it took two weeks to find the pilot following a 2005 helicopter crash.
Those interests still own most of the company supported by a 16.5 per cent investment from The Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall's venture investment company K One W One alongside other smaller shareholdings.
Aeronet is deveolped by Module Limited, which also privately owned
| A REsellerNews release || October 11, 2017 |||
The warmer spring weather is finally rewarding New Zealand with an improved supply and prices on new season asparagus, courgettes and strawberries.
This week shoppers will find asparagus in either 250 gram bunches or 500g bags at the cheapest price so far this season. The courgettes are now half the price they were last week and again either loose or in 500g bags.
Broccoli supplies have been erratic over the last few days, cauliflowers have been good buying and celery, silverbeet and spinach are all selling at normal spring time prices.
Capsicums, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce and hydroponic fancy lettuces are all good buying and hot house tomatoes are slowly improving in price. There is a good supply of loose tomatoes coming up from the Nelson area. J.S. Ewers Limited is the grower who has a large sophisticated growing operation in Richmond area of Nelson. Look out for his loose and vine bitez cherry tomatoes.
Not all the news is good however. Effects of the extremely difficult winter weather are now being seen and potato prices are climbing weekly.
Some growers are running out of stock completely with top quality agria and rua potatoes only available in limited numbers, hence the high prices. This situation will not change for at least another month at the earliest so be selective in what you buy.
Continuing with the bad news, Northland kumara and Hawke's Bay crown pumpkin supplies are in the same boat with limited volumes and high prices.
Hawke's Bay apple supplies are good with granny smith, pink lady and pacific queen varieties being the best buys either loose or in 2kg bags. Green and gold kiwifruit are selling well and enjoy the Gisborne navel oranges while they are readily available at good prices this week.
New season tangelos are selling well and there is a good supply of pears, lemons, grapefruit and the last of this year's tamarillos.
Strawberry supplies are improving daily with prices getting more acceptable and you will find both early season blueberries and raspberries to add to the treat list. Imports to look out for this week will include Australian mangos and melons, US grapes and a good supply of bananas for the school holidays.
| A FreshPlaza release || October 11, 2017 |||
ASX-listed IPH Ltd said it has acquired New Zealand intellectual property law firm AJ Park for $66 million.
IPH, which describes itself as Asia-Pacific's leading intellectual property group, expects the deal to be completed by Oct. 31. AJ Park employs 205 people with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Sydney, including 30 percent of New Zealand’s registered patent attorneys, and was established in 1891. The Kiwi law firm's client list spans a third of Fortune 500 companies and more than half of New Zealand's top 200 companies.
AJ Park will be the first New Zealand IP firm to join a publicly listed IP group, as a result of legislation which took effect from February 2017, which removed restrictions on ownership structures for patent attorney firms.
The deal comes as foreign ownership was discussed in the current negotiations between NZ First and the National and Labour parties to form the next government. NZ First has been a strong proponent in seeking to limit the level of foreign ownership in New Zealand.
The $66 million price tag, adjusted for net debt and working capital, represents 7.5 times AJ Park's normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) in the 2017 financial year, IPH said. It will be settled 60 percent in cash and the remainder in new IPH shares, with those shares to be escrowed for two years and the cash to be funded by USD denominated debt.
"We are confident that significant benefits will flow from being part of the IPH Group," AJ Park managing partner Damian Broadley said. "Importantly, we will continue to operate under the same name, with the same high-quality people, but will gain access to investment, technologies and networks that will enhance the way we deliver services to our clients."PH managing director David Griffith said the deal "represents a further step in IPH's strategy to expand its presence in secondary IP markets and, most importantly, supports IPH's growth in Asia through extension of our Asian service offering to AJ Park's local and international clients."
The acquisition still hinges on completion of restructuring and contractual arrangements, consent from third parties and no material adverse changes, IPH said. Its shares last traded at A$4.96 on the ASX, and are down 3.1 percent this year.
| A Sharechat release || October 2017, 11 |||
Leading New Zealand economic research company BERL next week celebrates its 60 years in business with a special event in Wellington. BERL was founded by Bryan Philpott, then an economist with the New Zealand Meat and Wool Board’s economic service; Hew Walls, a staffer in the Reserve Bank; and Norman Macbeth, editor of the Christchurch Press; opened for business in November 1957 with the distribution of the prototype issue of Trends, later to become BERL forecasts. Current BERL chief economist Ganesh Nana says that first issue, in the shadow of the 1957 general election, predicted grim times ahead. “With the confirmation of the forecast crisis and the subsequent infamous Nordmeyer Black Budget, BERL’s reputation was immediately established,” Dr Nana says. “While the BERL founders have long since passed, their ethos of making sense of the numbers remains alive and at the core of BERL today. “We overhauled the measurement of the asset base Māori economy asset base for Te Puni Kōkiri. Newly devised methodology supported by international peer review saw the 2010 measure of $36.9billion being widely adopted as a benchmark. This measure was subsequently updated for the 2013 year to $42.6billion. “We continue to regularly provide the local government sector forecasts of costs facing the sector for use in council annual plans. We measured – for WWF New Zealand – the transition costs involved in moving to alternative dolphin-friendly fishing methods. “The Māui dolphin is one of New Zealand’s most endangered animals with an estimated 63 dolphins over one year of age and are only found on the west coast. “Work for the New Zealand Housing Foundation highlighted the potential gains to the government’s finances – in terms of reduced health care costs, welfare payments, and crime costs, and increased tax revenues – arising from the improved outcomes of those in owner-occupier housing. “We have provided regular impact assessments for the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust across the range of their events including WOMAD and the Garden Festival. “We are proud to renew our corporate patrons” sponsorship of the New Zealand Festival and are excited about the 2018 event and to providing economic research and advisory services to assist in its success. “Over the past years BERL has tackled many challenges and opportunities. We are proud to remain a fiercely independent New Zealand owned, Wellington-based research consultancy business. “There are probably not many New Zealand owned commercial small to medium enterprises that have completed 60 years in business, so we believe it is a milestone worthy of celebration. “We know BERL was first in New Zealand in the economic forecasting and research consultancy game. We have seen in office 14 prime ministers, 13 governors-general, 13 finance ministers, 11 Treasury secretaries and nine Reserve Bank governors. “While some of these office holders may or may not change in the near future, BERL fully intends to outlast many more. “BERL remains true to our vision to make a difference. Economics is not about finance, nor about dollars and cents. It is about people, their communities, and their potential. We strive to make a difference by helping people and their communities realise their potential,” Dr Nana says.
| A Make Lemonade release || October 11, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242