New Zealand:

Taupo will Miss Benefits from Construction of Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station (Stuff)

Whether it was providing sausages, sandwiches for work-breaks, or a place to sleep, Taupo businesses are likely feel a blip when construction on $800 million Te Mihi geothermal power station winds down around mid-year, a local businessman says.

The large workforce brought into the town over the past 18 months to two years to build Te Mihi has been a mini-boom for small businesses.

For the past five or six years Taupo has been relatively sheltered from the economic lows with construction of the $110m east Taupo arterial bypass, and Mighty River Power's $430m Nga Awa Purua and $466m Ngatamariki geothermal stations.

Butchers, rental accommodation providers and food suppliers all reaped benefits supplying the needs of a workforce which peaked at 500 with an average take home pay around $1000 a week.

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