Jobs ‘right now’ at $155m Te Papa project in Upper Hutt: Minister
Thursday, 14 August 2025
Construction will begin next week on Te Papa’s long-awaited, purpose-built biodiversity research centre in Upper Hutt, which has a total cost of $155 million.
It will house the world’s largest collection of New Zealand and Southern Ocean fishes, along with other significant specimens.
The 6600sqm complex will be built in the suburb of Trentham and will replace an ageing and earthquake-prone storage building on Tory St in central Wellington.
It is expected to be finished in March 2028 and the contractor, LT McGuinness, expects more than 2000 people to be involved in the project in some way.
It has been designed for seismic resilience and sustainability, includes state-of-the-art storage, research laboratories and backup systems, and is expected to be used to the year 2080.
A 12-month transition period will ensure the safe relocation of the specimens from Wellington City to Upper Hutt, without compromising their scientific integrity.
In total more than 866,000 specimens of fish, invertebrates and reptiles that are stored in jars of alcohol will be housed in the facility. The oldest specimen is a hoki caught in Wellington Harbour in 1869, but the collections also feature larger marine species including sharks and a colossal squid.
“Our fish collection alone represents decades of scientific work and underpins crucial research in fisheries, biosecurity and environmental science,” said Te Papa chief executive Courtney Johnston.
The Government is investing $112.5m into the project over the next three years. The previous Labour-led government gave $42.9m to the project in 2022.
Representatives of the museum and the Government were on-site in Upper Hutt for the sod turning on Thursday.
Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith heralded the centre as one that would provide construction jobs “right now”. As well as the people involved in the build, about 150 staff are expected to be on-site during peak times.
The Government has in recent weeks come under scrutiny for a downturn in the construction sector. Data shows that 12,000 construction jobs were lost in the year to June, and more than 1100 construction companies went into liquidation in the two years to June.
Industry leaders previously told The Post that pauses and reductions in Government building were a major driver of the downturn.
“We know improving the quality of New Zealand’s infrastructure is vital to growing our economy and helping Kiwis with the cost of living,” Goldsmith said in a statement.
“Te Papa’s collection is a cornerstone of scientific research in biosecurity, biodiversity, and environmental science, supporting industries such as seafood, aquaculture, horticulture, agriculture and forestry both nationally and globally.”
As well as being the country’s top tourist attraction, Te Papa also has a major research mandate, with its staff caring for more than two million items spanning areas including natural history, art and mātauranga Māori.
The museum receives $44m each year from the Government for its baseline funding, but must earn another $38m annually from its various commercial activities, partners and philanthropy to remain viable.
Te Papa’s current Tory St storage facility will be decommissioned for wet collection use by April 2029.
It will still be used for some of the museum’s dry collections, however there may be options in future to move those items out to Upper Hutt too, Johnston told The Post.
The new facility will not be open to visits from the general public, except for those who have relevant interests or affairs with the collections.