Quake-prone Naenae pool rebuild could cost $68 million - $14m more than expected

Monday, 1 February 2021

Locals like the idea of a Māui statue on top of a new Naenae Pool. (First published December 2019)

Rebuilding Lower Hutt’s earthquake-prone Naenae pool is expected to cost $14 million more than budgeted, new projections show.

The pool was closed by Hutt City Council in April 2019 after engineering reports gave it an overall rating of less than 34 per cent of the New Building Standard.

At the time, the council estimated the construction of a new pool would cost about $40m. Then, in 2020, that figure was increased to $54m.

Rebuilding the Naenae Pool could cost $14 million more than expected.

But a quantitative risk assessment conducted by engineering firm AECOM, on behalf of the Naenae Project Board, has put the cost at $68m, after taking into account rising construction costs and increased demand for skill labour.

The Naenae pool has been closed for nearly two years due to seismic concerns.

* Hutt council faces dilemma with huge bill to fix Naenae Pool

Mayor Campbell Barry outside the Naenae pool shortly after the 2019 local election.

* Hutt City mayoral hopeful calls council 'a disgrace' after battle to get access to public documents

The central Government will pay $27m of the bill through its Covid-19 recovery fund.

Councillors will vote on whether to confirm the revised budget – and consider how it could affect council borrowing and potential rates rises – when they meet to discuss its draft 10-year plan on February 10.

Mayor Campbell Barry, who launched a petition to save the pool in the lead up to the 2019 local election, said it was important to him that the council provided ratepayers with the 'most accurate and transparent' financial information.

“In the past, [the] council has at times significantly underestimated the cost of large capital projects, which has come as a surprise to our community.”

Council chief executive Jo Miller said it was the first time the council had used the quantitative risk assessment approach to budget a project.

Previously, estimates had quoted the cost based on what construction would cost 'per square metre'.

AECOM Wellington regional manager Ian Martin said a quantitative risk assessment factored in the risk of costs increasing throughout the project.

The community will be able to provide feedback on the project, as well as the broader draft 10-year plan from March unit May.

The Olympic-size Naenae pool was built in 1956 and a cover installed 30 years later.

Before it was closed, the pool recorded about 450,000 visits annually.