State-of-the-art Justice precinct reaches key milestone

  • Amy Adams
Justice Courts

The $300 million Christchurch Justice precinct has reached a key milestone with the final concrete pour and the installation of the first cranes.

Justice Minister Amy Adams today inspected the build site of the new Justice and Emergency Services Precinct alongside Prime Minister John Key.

The state-of-the-art precinct will be home to the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, Department of Corrections, NZ Fire Service, St John, local and regional civil defence and emergency management teams, and the judiciary.

Ms Adams said the precinct reflected the Government’s commitment to rebuilding Christchurch and to delivering better public services.

“The Justice Precinct is the largest multiagency government project in New Zealand’s history. By sharing facilities and services, agencies from across the justice sector will be better placed to work together to ensure the best services are delivered to Cantabrians,” says Ms Adams.

Construction began in July this year and the final concrete pour – the first major construction milestone – is on track to be completed by the end of November. It will be the largest foundation slab of all anchor projects, comprising of more than 9500 cubic metres of cement supported by 25,000 cubic metres of soil, with 10 separate concrete pours.

“An enormous amount of work has gone into the build so far with a total of 43,960 construction hours completed to date. At its peak, more than 500 people will work on the site,” says Ms Adams.

During the visit the Prime Minister and Ms Adams witnessed the naming of the site’s two cranes by two local schools and were briefed on the Base Isolation technology being used in the build.

Construction is forecast to be completed by December 2016.

Justice precinct build by the numbers:

  • 9500m3 of concrete poured – the largest foundation slab of all anchor projects
  • Three buildings
  • Five levels with 42,000m2 floor space
  • 1100 staff when built and 900 daily visitors
  • 19 courtrooms
  • 500 people working on site during peak construction
  • 43,960 construction hours to date
  • Ten separate concrete pours – each incorporating an average of 150 tonnes of reinforcing steel laid by hand
  • Two cranes (Michael Angelo & Phoenix) named by local schools.

Editor's note: More info on the Justice precinct can be found at www.ccdu.govt.nz/projects-and-precincts/justice-and-emergency-services-precinct