Mill gets green light to expand greenbelt

The New Zealand Steel mill near Waiuku has won official clearance to buy 8.4ha of neighbouring agricultural land.

The Australian owners of the New Zealand Steel mill at Glenbrook have been given official clearance to buy a block of neighbouring land to expand its greenbelt buffer zone.

The Overseas Investment Office approved a deal for BlueScope Steel to pay $758,750 to the Webster family trust for at 64 Glenbrook Beach Rd at Waiuku, according to the latest tranche of documents to be released by the office.

The mill is NZ's sole producer of flat rolled steel products for building, construction, manufacturing and agricultural industries and is surrounded by 500ha of farmland, the office said.

BlueScope operates a livestock farm in and around the greenbelt area and the 8.4ha would enable it to expand this zone. This would help minimise the aesthetic and environmental impacts of the mill's operation on the local community, the office said.

BlueScope reported a profit slump last month from A$982 million to A$338 million ($1161 million to $400 million), prompting an announcement that it would cut 250 management and staff positions here and in Australia.

Most of the cuts would be in Australia, a spokesman said.

In other deals approved by the office, United States-owned GE Fleet NZ was cleared to buy Australian-owned Bank of New Zealand's Custom Fleet for $142 million.

Contact Energy was cleared to buy 190ha of Wairakei land from Landcorp Farming for $5.7 million. Contact needs the land for geothermal electricity generation at Wairakei and Poihipi geothermal stations, the office said.

Landcorp had been farming the land over the geothermal field and Contact had an easement on it. But Contact now wanted to own the block outright.

Japan's Orix Corporation was cleared to buy Truck Leasing from UDC Finance for a confidential amount.

India's Gujarat NRE Coke was cleared to buy agricultural and mining assets from shareholders in Pike River Coal for $25 million in return for a 25 per cent stake in the company.

The office said the deal involved 87.5ha north-east of Greymouth.

Pike River has a 40-year permit to mine coal on 2401ha on the West Coast. Gujarat is one of India's largest manufacturers of low-ash metallurgical coke and listed on the Mumbai, Kolkata and National Stock Exchanges in India.