Sorting the housing numbers

Housing repairs and rebuilds will lead the earthquake recovery in Canterbury. With close to 50% of house insurance claims settled and a total of around $20 billion plus of housing stock damage before betterment, the activity in housing is about to get really serious.

It is important to understand the scale of what we're heading into. The most up to date figures we can ascertain from various sources look like this.

• There are around 145,000 houses with damage under cap (under $100,000). Of these just under 90,000 have damage between $10,000 and $100,000 and are being repaired under the Fletcher/EQC contract (or increasingly cashed up). That $3billion contract is just over half complete.
• There are approximately 25,000 house with over $100,000 worth of damage. Of these between 1000 and 2000 have been repaired or are under repair.
• There are somewhere around 2000 houses that have yet to be determined whether they are under or over cap.
• We have just under 8000 homes that have been completely destroyed or written off. 
• There are also 65,000 out of scope claims ( swimming pools, driveways etc).

However you look at it, two things are obvious. There is an enormous amount of work to be done in the housing sector and we have only just started.

It is important that we all understand these figures so that we know what we are heading into in the context of a total rebuild of around $40 billion, before betterment. And by the way, there is significant betterment occurring in most or the repairs and rebuilds being undertaken, so that $40 billion figure is starting to look light!

petert@cecc.org.nz

www.cecc.org.nz

One of our members innovating on the storage and accommodation front!

Christchurch is proof – you can do anything in a Royal Wolf

No project in Christchurch is too big or too small for shipping container specialists Royal Wolf.

From container walls holding up historic buildings such as the Christchurch Basilica, to a pop up bike shop and cafe in the centre of the city, it’s all part of the company’s ongoing commitment to Canterbury’s earthquake recovery.

The company has been hands on in the region since the first Christchurch earthquake in 2010, when Royal Wolf staff manned its branch around the clock to assist emergency services in their efforts to ensure public safety.

What was initially a safety initiative has developed into a diverse and large scale operation with Royal Wolf supplying its product for everything from portable offices through to large and small scale accommodation facilities.

Some of the major projects Royal Wolf are involved in include accommodation and offices for the Fire Service, rebuild projects at the University of Canterbury, the Arts Centre, and the Bridge of Remembrance, and supplying storage containers for most of the home rebuilds and repairs going on around the region.

To ensure Royal Wolf had the ability to deal with the ongoing demand in Christchurch a huge amount of extra container stock from around New Zealand and Australia was redirected to Christchurch.

And now, as the rebuild starts in earnest, Royal Wolf has the capacity to assist construction companies with portable offices, general storage facilities and container modifications to suit any business need.

As well as these products Royal Wolf also has vast experience working in the Australian mining industry supplying mobile camps.

These camps can take the form of stand-alone camps or additions to existing accommodation which will be especially important in Christchurch to allow for extra beds for the hundreds of workers who will be needed to complete the rebuild.

Photo supplied courtesy of Resources Camp Hire (RCH) - 100 person camp supplied by Royal Wolf featuring ensuited accommodation modules, commercial kitchen, diner,  laundries/ ablution modules and  supported by offices and recreational facilities

The company’s diverse container solutions in Christchurch are proof that you can do anything in a Royal Wolf.
Any company interested in Royal Wolf’s accommodation options or any other containerised solution contact Rick Mills, Sales Manager on 0800 266824.

petert@cecc.org.nz

www.cecc.org.nz

Another Week Fly's By!!

My life seems to have be dominated by aircraft and air travel over the past week. On Waitangi Day I flew with the Prime Minister, five Cabinet Ministers, 50 Business Leaders and Government Officials to Australia. The prime objective of the trip was to build relationships with the new Abbott Government and to reinforce the importance of the relationship between Australia and New Zealand. It is clear the Australians are “looking more north than south” and on a day-to-day basis New Zealand does not have a high profile in Australia. The high level of the delegation, comprising business leaders from right across the New Zealand economy, would have left the Australians in no doubt that we are serious about nurturing the relationship. It was a highly successful mission and a real joy to participate with the movers and shakers at both a political and business level. One of the highlights of the trip was a police escort motorcade directly from the plane (New Zealand Royal Air Force 757) through to the hotel. With the road completely closed off to other traffic it took about 12 minutes to get from Sydney Airport to the Sheraton (sirens and flashing lights)!

 

On Monday 10 February I attended the celebrations for the multi-million dollar refit of the B777-200ER Singapore Airlines flight to Christchurch. Singapore Airlines have been loyally supporting Christchurch city for the last 28 years and this upgraded plant is a symbol of their further commitment to our city. We were told by the Singapore Airlines management team that Singapore Airlines is here to stay and in fact over the last summer ramped up additional services to reach the highest volume of additional seats ever seen from the airline. The new cabin product is an exciting edition to quality travel between Christchurch and Singapore and is part of Singapore Airlines dream of making the South Island a top-notch destination for world travellers.