Construction on hold due to high water table, unstable ground delays mental health and drug unit

A digital image of Te Whare Awhiora — the planned mental health and addiction treatment facility. Groundwork has started but cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and other rain events have meant a delay to construction due to the high water table .Picture supplied

A new drug and mental health treatment facility for the region, promised by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern four years ago, might not be built under a Labour Government, depending on the outcome of October’s General Election.

Te Whare Awhiora was one of five projects funded out of Budget 2019’s $1.9 billion investment into mental wellbeing.

Groundworks for the new Whare Awhiora mental health facility at Gisborne Hospital started earier this year, with then Health Minister Andrew Little turning the first sod on March 21.

Construction proper was expected to start early in the new year on the $23.7 million mental health and addictions care facility.

However, a Te Whatu Ora–Health New Zealand spokesperson  yesterday confirmed the build had been delayed.

“The project to replace Te Whare Awhiora mental health and addictions facility has been delayed by cyclones Hale and Gabrielle, as well as the unusually high overall rainfall since November 2022.

“The water table at the site is higher than what was calculated from the original site investigations, extending the time required to excavate the building’s foundations.

“Further delays have been caused by the amount of unstable material found in the ground at the site, which has reached as far as three metres below the surface.

The extent of the unstable material, combined with the higher water table, has required more extensive ground improvements than anticipated.

“Testing done since work at the site began has also revealed low levels of soil contamination.

Soil that is found to be contaminated must be separated out and disposed of appropriately.

“To help mitigate the delays, construction of the foundations began as the remaining ground improvement work continued.

The building is scheduled to reach the practical completion stage by quarter three, 2024.

“The delays are expected to increase the cost of the project but the extent of that increase will not be known for some time.”

An insurance claim for the cyclone damage had been accepted, he said.

Since the 2019 Budget put aside money for the build, New Zealand has gone through four ministers of health and a prime minister.