Mighty River Power plans to invest about $380.65m for the construction of a geothermal plant north of Taupo, for expanding its portfolio in New Zealand.

Mighty River Power general manager development Mark Trigg said the plant will be constructed on the Ngatamariki geothermal steam field 17km north-east of Taupo and is expected to have an initial output of 82MW.

The plant will be wholly owned by Mighty River Power, while Tauara North No2 Trust, which was a joint participant in securing the resource consents, would receive a revenue stream.

The Trust is joint venture between Rotokawa and Nga Awa Purua plants on the Rotokawa field and it also holds an option to take an equity stake in the plant in the future at market value.

Mighty River has arranged for $250m additional debt facilities to fund the cost of construction.

The company has selected ORMAT to provide engineering, procurement and construction services on turnkey basis.

Iceland Drilling Company has been awarded a two-year contract for providing a drilling rig.

Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin this July and the plant is expected to commence full operations by mid-2013.