Holcim Celebrates 50th with Conservation Project

Attached is a media release regarding the environmental project announced on Saturday to mark 50 years of production at Holcim's Westport Cement Works.
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MEDIA RELEASE
Holcim Celebrates 50th with Conservation Project at Cape Foulwind

26 May 2008 - Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd has announced that it will create a wetland and bird sanctuary on eight hectares of land at Cape Foulwind to help recognise 50 years of operations at its Westport Cement Works.

Managing Director Jeremy Smith announced the wetland project at a 50th celebration function held on Saturday evening

The wetland will be created on Holcim land at the end of Lighthouse Road, Omau, adjacent to the northern carpark of the Cape Foulwind walkway, on a site used for quarrying up until the 1960s.

“Our eventual aim with this project is to provide a unique wetland habitat that complements existing conservation projects on Cape Foulwind,” Jeremy Smith said. “Features will include a series of small lakes, a walkway around the wetland, a bird hide, and interpretive panels which explain the wetland ecosystem.”

The project, which will be achieved as a staged development over five years, has the endorsement of both the Department of Conservation and Buller District Council. A wetland area is considered to be the missing piece of the jigsaw of ongoing rehabilitation and conservation efforts on Cape Foulwind.

“This project was a natural choice for the company, given its commitment to environmental projects such as the award-winning 20 year rehabilitation of the Cape Foulwind quarry, and its ongoing support for the West Coast Blue Penguin Trust.

“A proposed plan for the wetland has been drawn up by an environmental consultancy with substantial wetland experience”, Jeremy Smith said. “ We will now go through a process of further community consultation through the Westport Works Community Liaison Group to ensure the project has maximum benefits for the community as well as for the environment. We then hope to involve the community, including schools, in the development of the wetland area.”

Saturday’s celebration of 50 years of production at Westport Works included a street parade with the theme of 50, displays of memorabilia, and an evening function for past and present staff and invited guests. Those present at the function included a group of “first day-ers”; men who started work on the day the plant first opened.

ENDS

Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd is a leading New Zealand supplier of cement, aggregates, ready
mixed concrete and lime. Its involvement in the New Zealand building industry dates back to
1888, and today it operates more than 35 sites and employs approximately 530 people. It is
part of the Holcim Group, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement, aggregates and
construction-related services represented in over 70 countries on all continents.

Internet: www.holcim.com/nz

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