'Strong interest' to build Christchurch's metro sports facility

Sunday, 19 August 2018

A March Construction digger on the metro sports facility site on Sunday. March Menard Joint Venture have the contract for the facility's ground works.

Groundworks on the metro sports facility are about to begin as 'high calibre' contractors put their hands up to build the long-delayed facility, Ōtākaro's new boss says.

The Crown rebuild company is in charge of the $300 million anchor project which was put on hold last November due to a dispute over the design and build contract before going through a Government review resulting in a trimmed-back version of the facility, the design for which is complete.

New Ōtākaro CEO John Bridgman says 'high calibre organisations' are being lined up to take on the metro sports facility build contract.

New CEO John Bridgman, who's been behind the desk for about two weeks now, said there had been 'strong interest' in the contract to build the facility.

'The feedback we have from the market is we've done a good job with the contract and set the project up for success from that perspective … the contractors we've got lining up are high calibre organisations.'

An artist's impressions of Christchurch's metro sports facility.

A digger pictured on Sunday at the metro sports facility site.

* Christchurch to get trimmed-back metro sports centre – with roofed stadium likely

* Cost saving measures considered for Christchurch's metro sports facility**

He said Ōtākaro was now evaluating the expressions of interest.

The build-only contract is different from the previous design and build agreement with Leighs Cockram Joint Venture, which Ōtākaro terminated over the allocation of risk and a $75m budget blowout in November – though Leighs Cockram disputed exactly why the deal fell over.

Meanwhile, groundworks contractor March Menard Joint Venture on Thursday took possession of the site, bounded by Moorhouse, Antigua and St Asaph streets, with work to install about 7500 in-ground stone columns scheduled to start in the last week of August.

They will install about a dozen columns to be tested, causing installation work to pause for a few weeks, before ramping up from late September.

Bridgman said the build contractor was expected to be physically on site early next year.

He said the project was well defined and well scoped.

'These projects never go without a hitch, I'm sure there will be something, but it's well shaped to progress to plan from here.'

The Government reviewed the project earlier this year, which included looking at combining it with a stadium, before confirming a trimmed-back version would go ahead. Cosmetic changes and an altered contract process had reportedly carved at least $50m from the total price.

At the April announcement, officials said earthworks were expected to begin within 10 weeks – a timeframe which has already passed. Some minor ground work has been done so some of the space can be used as a hospital staff carpark of 170 spaces, which will start operating in the next few weeks.

The risk profiles for Government contracts on vertical construction projects has been called into question recently following the collapse of Hawkins, receivership of Ebert and withdrawal of Fletchers from the vertical construction sector.

The Government has promised a 'reset' for the troubled industry, which includes a pledge to stop low-balling companies for projects.

Auckland University of Technology professor of construction management John Tookey said Government projects could be risky because they tended to be large, run for a number of years, and involve a large number of different trades and sub-contractors, some of whom could be in short supply.

He said the Government was keen on transferring risks to the contractor, but contractors tended to be poorly capitalised, so it did not take much for them to get into a cashflow crisis.

This could be a problem for the Government if the contractor went under forcing a re-tender of the contract, potentially causing a cost blowout, and introducing confusion over liability for work already done. issues of liability.

Tookey said in a design and build contract, the contractor carried the design risk. They had to figure out the best way to meet client specifications while still making money.

With build only, the contractor could 'wash their hands of any responsibility' if things went wrong by blaming poor design.