Govt asked to grant travel exemptions so new $475m convention centre can open
Sunday, 10 October 2021
Government is being asked to step in so Christchurch's new convention centre Te Pae can get up and running in time for summer events.
Te Pae, which was just weeks from completion at the time of the latest Covid outbreak, needs experts who are stuck in Auckland to travel south and commission specialised technical equipment onsite.
It is also dealing with an events industry paralysed by Covid restrictions, and is pinning its hopes on the Government’s upcoming vaccine pass scheme.
The $475 million convention centre’s first events had been scheduled for October but the latest Covid outbreak has delayed completion.
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It was the latest in a series of postponements, including a one-year construction delay caused by last year’s Covid lockdowns and restrictions.
A spokesman for Crown rebuild agency Ōtākaro, which is in charge of getting Te Pae built, said in a written statement they were in discussions with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment about getting Covid travel exemptions so the required specialists could leave Auckland.
“Our goal remains to hold some events before Christmas.”
They are also working with contractors on alternative arrangements in case they cannot get the required experts, he said. The specialists are mostly needed for the centre’s fire management systems and compliance requirements.
The Ōtākaro spokesman said it was unlikely Te Pae would be able to host the more complex events such as big conferences and exhibitions this year.
“The changing alert levels have impacted the confidence of event organisers, with a number of larger events scheduled for 2021 choosing to move to a later date in hopes of more certainty around event requirements,” he said.
“Generally, as we move through alert levels, we are seeing a knock-on effect where events which are currently unable to be hosted are being moved to the future.”
Te Pae general manager Ross Steele said they were eager to see the details of the Government’s vaccine certificate plan “and hopefully a clear mandated direction”.
The Government has indicated vaccine certificates will be needed for entry at mass events and will be available from November.
Steele said the scheme would “give our event organisers the confidence to return, and for business events to go ahead with clarity”.
He is also hoping New Zealand will reopen its international borders early next year.
“Vaccines are also the key to our borders opening, which will provide us access to our incremental growth markets and the ability to bring high yielding international delegates to Ōtautahi Christchurch.”
Steele said they had some private functions booked for December such as meetings and banquets
Public ticketed events scheduled for early next year include the Smart Christchurch Innovation Expo in later February, and the Māia Feast, Christchurch Art Show, and Armageddon Expo, all booked for March.
A public open day is being planned for Te Pae, with the date due to be announced within a few weeks.
Te Pae will include a 1400-seat auditorium, 2800 square metres of exhibition space, banquet seating for 1800 diners, and 24 meeting rooms with capacity for up to 1500 people.
It is being built as one of the city’s earthquake recovery anchor projects.