Crane nearly quarter-kilometre high about rise in Auckland

A super crane nearly a quarter of a kilometre tall, and the highest to work in New Zealand, will be erected in Auckland CBD.

A Fletcher Construction spokeswoman said a Liebherr 357 Luffing Crane, which will stand 225m tall, will be placed at the Commercial Bay building site in March.

The $2.2 million yellow crane was made and imported from Biberach, Germany and will be able to lift 32,000kg, equivalent to about six elephants at any one time.

The $850 million Commercial Bay tower is being built on the Lower Albert St/Customs St/Queen St/Quay St block across from the existing PwC Tower, formerly the site of the Downtown shopping centre.

The $850m Commercial Bay building site in Downtown Auckland. Photo/Jason Oxenham

"The Commercial Bay crane is Fletcher Construction's tallest crane ever if you work on the assumption that it is tallest from base on the ground to top of crane," the spokeswoman said.

"By the end of the project, it will grow to be 225m tall. The next tallest Fletcher Construction crane was used for construction of the AMP building. While the Vero building is taller, the crane used for that project worked in a similar way to the Sky Tower crane - 'climbing the building' so again worked at a higher height but not the tallest," she said.

"The SkyTower crane worked at the highest height but was not the tallest crane if you are counting a crane working on the ground from its base to tip. The SkyTower crane worked on built up platforms, then 'climbed the side of the tower' and then worked from the top of the tower," she said, referring to the 328m SkyTower.

A Precinct Properties spokeswoman explained more about the work.

"Luffing jib cranes are designed for working on particularly high buildings or in particularly small spaces. The crane is due to arrive in early March," she said.