SkyCity fire's impact - damaged convention centre out of action for two years
Thursday, 7 November 2019
SkyCity has told investors that the fire-damaged New Zealand International Convention Centre will not be ready for conventions booked in 2021.
The announcement was made on Thursday during SkyCity Entertainment Group's Investor Day in Adelaide, Australia.
SkyCity chief executive Graeme Stephens said it was unclear what the impact beyond 2021 would be for the venue.
The announcement rules out any possibility of repairs being in place in time for APEC that year.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said Apec, an annual conference for leaders from the Asia-Pacific region, would still be held in Auckland in 2021, despite the havoc caused by the blaze.
At least two dozen major conferences had been confirmed for the venue before the October 22 fire on the convention centre roof.
Stephens told investors that the impact of the fire would be 'immaterial' to the group's operating earnings in the 2020 financial year.
SkyCity has until January 1, 2023, to complete the centre under existing commitments with New Zealand Government, Stephens said.
Fletcher Building was required to finish the project and 'at this stage' there was no change in the contractual position between the construction company and SkyCity, he said.
When completed, the conference centre was expected to handle events of up to 4000 people.
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said the announcement was the first acknowledgement of the new build timeframe from SkyCity.
'This is obviously devastating for SkyCity and challenging for the Government but it does provide some interesting opportunities for the conference sector in the rest of the country,' he said.
Other regions could benefit by picking up the events that have lost their venue, he said.
The fire, believed to have been caused by a blowtorch being used on the convention centre's roof, is another hurdle in the project that has been plagued by delays.
Fletcher Building was contracted in 2015 to deliver the convention centre.
The construction firm previously said it was on track to complete the $703 million project by July 2019 but was later forced to push that back to December 2019.
In September 2018, the SkyCity group announced it was withholding $26.9m from the construction company due to delays on the project.