Earlier today, SkyCity Entertainment Group revealed that its insurers have confirmed they would cover the damage which a fire caused to the company’s Auckland-based convention centre and adjacent hotel that is currently under construction.
The New Zealand gaming and entertainment operator issued an exchange filing to reveal that its third party liability insurance policy would review the claims of the company. Fletcher Building that is engaged with the construction of the project is insured both under a third party liability insurance policy and its contract works insurance policy.
On October 22nd, the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) that is owned by gambling operator SkyCity saw a fire break out. The fire caused serious damage to the site that has already seen some delays in the construction process.
The NZICC project is estimated at NZ$703 million. Built by the largest construction company on the territory of the country, Fletcher Building Ltd, it has been considered the biggest project that is currently underway in New Zealand. As revealed by SkyCity, the NZICC project was handed back to the construction company on November 1st. The gambling operator further noted that the exact impact of the fire on the project’s completion date has not been determined yet.
According to a separate statement that was issued by Fletcher Building, the impact of the October 22nd fire on the International Convention Centre remained within the construction deadline announced in February 2018.
No Estimate of Costs Provided Yet, Expected Completion of Project Remains as Announced
For the time being, access to the construction site is still restricted because there are ongoing investigations into the cause of the fire, as well as structural and safety assessments that have not been completed yet.
No estimate of costs had been provided by SkyCity. As mentioned above, Fletcher Building is still making an assessment of the project’s delivery time, cash-flows, costs and cost provisions that would be made to finalise the project as announced in February 2018. The gambling operator confirmed that the parties involved in the convention centre’s construction would stick to their standard agreement with the Government of New Zealand.
A washdown of the building, as well as a purge of the courthouse air conditioning, had to be ordered as a result of the fire. As some new photos showed, the roof of the SkyCity-owned convention centre is still wrecked more than a month after the blaze.
Apart from the damage done to the construction project, the fire was also the reason why the district court was closed last month, with the closure affecting about 1,000 cases. The Swanson House offices of the Public Defence Service were shut for a week, and so was Chorus House that hosts a number of specialist courts and tribunals.
- Author
Olivia Cole
