Auckland SkyCity Convention Centre new build: What we know

Tuesday, 22 October 2019

A major fire at Auckland's SkyCity Convention Centre cast a think pall of smoke over central Auckland.

A huge fire at Auckland's under-construction SkyCity Convention Centre is the latest in a series of setbacks for the project.

Masses of black smoke have been billowing into the Auckland skyline for more than three hours, as 100 firefighters battled a 'very challenging' blaze.

The fire started when a torch was being used on a rubber waterproofing membrane when it caught fire, electrician Lindsay Rowlands said.

A potential fire hazard delayed the completion of Auckland Sky City Convention Centre in February.

A potential fire hazard led in February to a delay in the completion of the $703 million project when it was discovered the aluminium panels the centre (APC) was made of were the same material that was partly responsible for London's Grenfell Tower fire.

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However, Fletchers informed firefighters at the scene there was no more of the APC cladding in the building when the fire started.

Removing the cladding came at a cost of around $25m, with thousands of bookings having to be reviewed as a result of the delay.

Firefighters on the roof of the convention centre are battling flames that keep spreading.

'It's a public building. We decided we needed to lead the way with non-ACP,' SkyCity chief executive Graeme Stephens told Stuff in February.

The convention centre is a multilevel structure in Hobson St and is the biggest building project in Auckland since the Sky Tower was built in 1997.

Casino operator SkyCity unveiled concept designs for its controversial centre in Auckland back in 2014.

Fire at Sky City Convention Centre Auckland

These included the 32,000 square metre convention centre, the five-star 300-room hotel on Hobson St, a retail laneway linking Nelson and Hobson streets and 1327 carparks underneath the convention centre.

The 38-month build was expected to create an estimated 1000 jobs plus about 1140 jobs once opened for business.

Construction company Fletcher Building was contracted in 2015 to deliver the centre, the same contractors who also built the Sky Tower.

The construction firm previously said it was on track to complete the project by July 2019 but was later forced to push that back to December 2019.

Construction work had so far used more than 173,000 cubic metres of concrete, 7300 tonnes of structural steel, 330 tonnes of secondary steel and 17,000 litres of paint.

When completed, it would have a total 32,500sqm of floor space.

SkyCity was paying for the construction of the centre after agreeing a deal with the Government allowing it to extend its casino licence to 2048 and add 230 poker machines and 40 gaming tables.

The deal caused controversy over the gambling concessions in exchange for the build.

SkyCity group announced it was withholding $26.9m from the Fletcher building construction company due to delays, in September.

Fletcher Building was also expected to have to pay total compensation of just under $40m.

Of that money, $30m was to compensate for losses caused by the conference centre delays, with another $9.5m due for losses caused by delays to completing the hotel, SkyCity said.

The convention city was expected to open in the second half of 2020.

Shares in SkyCity fell 4 per cent between 1pm and 2pm as investors reacted to reports of the fire, but they had recovered a little to trade down 2.5 per cent at $3.88 by 2.30pm.

That values the company at $2.6 billion. Shares in construction company Fletcher Building took a smaller hit, but were down 1.3 per cent at $4.66 at 2.30pm.