Wellington’s new convention and exhibition centre, Tākina, is $5.75 million over budget but is still on track to open mid this year.
The original cost of the project, including the land, was originally estimated to be $179m.
But a $5.75m overspend on the cost and fit-out went before a Wellington City Council committee meeting this morning.
Council officials said the major capital project was nearing completion and due to open at the beginning of June- slightly earlier than initially planned.
“This project has been delivered over four financial years in an extremely challenging environment including a global pandemic, constrained supply chains and high inflation rates, particularly in the construction sector, and can be seen as a great success for council,” officials said in meeting documents.
The extra $5.75m was needed for issues including changes to the fit-out for kitchens, AV, furnishings, and signage, as well as to cover the impact of Covid-19.
Overall there is 18,000sq m of space over three main levels of the new convention and exhibition centre, plus mezzanine floors.
The ground floor will be available to the public whenever the building is open, providing an internal walkway linking Wakefield and Cable Sts.
The building is base-isolated, has 2,250 tonnes of steel in it, and 10,000 cubic meters of concrete.
Mayor Tory Whanau said Tākina will bring considerable benefits to Wellington.
“Its ground floor exhibition space will host significant, family-friendly exhibitions with the first to be announced in a few weeks. The conference centre can host up to 1600 delegates at a time. Already we have more than 140 conferences confirmed.”
Almost 500,000 people are expected to visit Tākina in its first year based on the line-up of conferences and events already in place, Whanau said.
This will provide new opportunities for accommodation, hospitality and retail businesses in the city, she said.
“With so many people visiting Tākina, demand for hotel and other commercial accommodation will dramatically increase. It’s expected to generate demand for an additional 388,000 visitor nights in paid accommodation in Wellington.
“So many more visitors will simultaneously create demand for travel to Wellington and we’re looking forward to that stimulating new air-services to the capital too.”
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