Moa, a craft brewing company based in New Zealand, has secured approval for expansion of its brewery in Marlborough.

The approval will enable Moa’s capacity expansion to reach 1.5 million litres from 1 million. The company will continue brewing the Moa lager, session pale ale and cider at its McCashin’s brewery in Nelson.

Commenting on the news, the company was quoted as cited in Marlborough Express: "Whilst the conditions are a compromise on the original application, the company has retained significant scope for increases in volume."

Moa, though, is yet to secure final approval from the Environment Court.

However, Moa CEO Geoff Ross expressed confidence about going ahead with the planned expansion, reports Marlborough Express.

In 2013, the company received resource consent for expanding its brewery in Jacksons Road with an investment of $6.1m.

However, the project came to a halt after this consent faced a challenge from Marlborough winemaker Cloudy Bay Vineyards and Marlborough residents Philip Rose and Simon Matthews who claimed that the expansion would adversely impact the region’s environment.