Lyttelton cruise berth cost rises by $11 million

Tuesday, 7 May 2019

Lyttelton's purpose-built cruse berth is now slated to cost $67 million following design changes, but it will be able to handle cruise ships carrying 7000 passengers and crew. (Video first published in May 2019)

The Lyttelton Port Company has confirmed design changes to its new cruise berth have pushed the price up by $11 million.

Chief executive Peter Davie said the total budget including contingencies was now $67m, compared with the original estimate of $56m.

But he is hopeful the full contingency will not be needed, and any borrowing needed to cover the cost increase could be serviced by bookings.

Last year Davie warned the cost of the berth was likely to rise as a result of design changes to accommodate larger cruise ships, and to reduce the impact of pile driving noise on mammals, such as endangered Hector's Dolphins.

**READ MORE:

Design changes to avoid upsetting Hector's Dolphins were in part responsible for the increased cost of Christchurch's new cruise berth at the port of Lyttelton.

* Cruise ships returning to Lyttelton Harbour in 2020

*Timaru cruise ship crash puts safety at all ports under the spotlight

* Changes to new Christchurch cruise berth will increase $56m price tag

* Concerns pile driving for Lyttelton cruise berth could harm dolphins**

A group concerned about dolphin welfare argued in favour of screw piles to reduce under water noise that might upset the mammals, but the port company opted for pile driving because of the added strength it offered.

The port worked with marine mammal experts and acoustic engineers, and said smaller diameter piles in the new design significantly reduced noise.

It has also paid a marine mammal observer to monitor dolphin behaviour in the harbour during the construction period.

In a recent interview with Stuff, Davie, who has signalled he will retire at the end of the year, said that the cruise berth would generate only about 5 per cent of port business.

The total cost of Lyttelton's new purpose-built cruise berth has jumped from $56m to $67m, including contingencies. An artist's impression of the facility due to open in November 2020.

LPC's 2018 annual report said current forecasts showed the berth may not make an economic return, and if that did not change, it could mean a lower dividend for port owner, the Christchurch City Council.

But Davie suggested that outlook might have been overly pessimistic and it depended on the final cost and the berth's financial performance.

Bookings looked promising, with 70 already received pending the berth's opening in November 2020.

City councillors were briefed on the increased costs some time ago but until now, they figures had not been made public.

Deputy mayor Andrew Turner, who also sits on the Banks Peninsula Community Board that covers Lyttelton, said the expectation was that additional operating revenue would cover the extra capital cost.

The council pushed the port company to develop the cruise berth because of the economic benefits for the city which suffered from a drop in tourists after the 2011 earthquake and lost much of its cruise traffic to Akaroa.

'We would not have approved this major piece of expenditure if it didn't stack up from the an economic development point of view,' Turner said.

There had been a number of deputations to the community board about possible environmental impacts arising the berth's construction, particularly in relation to Hector's Dolphins.

'But the port is doing everything that's required of them by their [resource] consent,' said Turner.

The Lyttelton development is the first purpose-built cruise berth of its kind in New Zealand and will be able to handle 'super cruisers' capable of carrying more than 5000 passengers and 2000 crew.

Other ports around the country have been put on notice to improve their facilities in the wake of the 2017 accident in which the Seabourn Encore broke its moorings at Timaru's PrimePort, crashing into the cement ship the Milburn Carrier II.