Fears over rising costs of new Christchurch Convention Centre

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has expressed his fears over the rising costs of the planned new Christchurch Convention Centre.

Speaking in his role as Tourism Minister at this week’s TRENZ 2015 tourism conference in Rotorua, Prime Minister Key explained that increasing costs would mean that the budget for the new venue would need “pruning”.

With the completion date for the project pushed back to late 2018 from 2017 and the New Zealand Government’s contribution to the project rising from $284 million to around $420 million, Prime Minister Key hinted the size of the project could be reduced to fit in with the Government's overall budget plans.

Prime Minister Key told the TRENZ audience "I won't go through the entrails, but I think it's fair to say the costs (for the Convention Centre) were starting to get fairly prohibitive.”

Highlighting other convention centres in the planning process for Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown, and Christchurch’s status as New Zealand’s “number two” convention centre, Prime Minister Key added “I think logically Auckland should be the largest, and the Government is not paying for that convention centre ... and Christchurch has got to be number two.

“We're really just trying to get those numbers proportionally about right (and) we are getting a lot closer and we are optimistic, and we are very much committed to doing it.

“It's pretty obvious to everyone the tourism sector in Christchurch has suffered quite badly as a result of the earthquakes."

Prime Minister Key stated that there was a need to get people including business tourists back into Christchurch, so a convention centre "will happen" to help that demand.

He went on to highlight that the Government is committed to about $1 billion of total spending on projects like the convention centre and the metro sports facility, continuing “the main point is, one we've got to make sure we're broadly within budget and I think the second major point is we've got to make sure it's what the council and the people of Christchurch want.”

Prime Minister Key said the Government funded Tourism Growth Partnership (TGP) would grant $1.5 million to support a new exhibition Marlborough's Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre “matched to the tune of nearly $14 million by the centre."

This funding would allow the centre to expand, increasing its display space by a third to incorporate a major new Second World War aviation hangar that could also be used for conventions and exhibitions. 

Prime Minister Key also announced that the TGP would contribute $350,000 towards the development of a new spa complex on Rotorua’s lakefront.

Image shows the planned new Christchurch Convention Centre.

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