Christchurch investors welcome convention centre announcement

  • 30/06/2016
An artist's impression of what the Christchurch convention centre will look like (Supplied)
An artist's impression of what the Christchurch convention centre will look like (Supplied)

Christchurch commercial property owners say the decision to proceed immediately with the city's new convention centre is just the injection the city needed.

After months of uncertainty around the project, the Government confirmed on Wednesday the multi-million dollar facility will be built by late 2019, despite it dumping its private partnership deal.

The long-awaited commitment from the Government has instilled confidence in local investors.

Investor and spokesman for central city property owners, Ernest Duval, says it's the news the CBD has been waiting for.

"The business investment community has been patient, in particular the hospitality and the hotel industry."

He says the announcement is likely to spark other developments, although investors will proceed cautiously until work on the convention centre is further advanced.

"I would expect that they're probably going to take some confidence from this and move forward, but they may not start to put a spade in the ground until they get a lot more certainty over the commencement date."

The convention centre was originally slated to be completed by 2017.

Newshub.