Final alliance agreement signed in Christchurch

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed the signing today of a final agreement between the alliance of parties that will manage the $2 billion rebuild of Christchurch’s badly damaged infrastructure.

The alliance will be responsible for repairing and rebuilding the earthquake damaged ground level and below ground infrastructure, including roads, water, wastewater and stormwater.

The alliance includes the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), the Christchurch City Council, and contractors Fulton Hogan, Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell, Downer Construction, and City Care.

An interim agreement between these organisations was signed on 3 May 2011, and that was formalised today with the signing of the final agreement by all partners.

"Since the interim agreement was signed good progress has continued to be made on emergency repairs and on planning for the wider rebuild, which is likely to take more than five years," Mr Brownlee said.

Forming an alliance is an approach to delivering complex large-scale projects where clients, consultants, and contractors from several organisations work together to meet quality, cost and time targets.

The alliance model has been used successfully by NZTA in delivering a number of major state highway projects, including the Manukau Harbour Crossing, which was delivered nearly a year ahead of schedule and under budget.

CERA is responsible for coordinating and leading the rebuild of Canterbury and supporting the welfare of its residents. For more information visit www.cera.govt.nz