基督城走出震災陰影 公共工程重建聯盟成軍

A foundational agreement was signed in Christchurch today creating the Infrastructure Rebuild Alliance to repair the city's infrastructure damaged by the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck on February 22 and a series of previous quakes.

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

"An alliance is the proven best model for this work," said Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee. "It's the fastest way of completing the job, offers flexibility in a fluid situation, includes local companies, and gets partners to work together toward achieving their common goals."

Transport Minister Steven Joyce says the newly established Alliance to rebuild Christchurch is a great step forward for the city. "The Alliance will use labour based in Christchurch. This will serve to stimulate the local economy and provide the best response available to the needs of affected residents," he said.

The state of national emergency declared for Christchurch expired Sunday, leaving the national government with a NZ$8.5 billion commitment to rebuild the damaged metropolis of some 375,000 people, New Zealand's second largest city.

Government officials are calling the earthquakes the worst natural disaster in New Zealand's history. While no one was killed in the previous quakes, the February 22 death toll is estimated at 180, with hundreds more injured.

The recovery and rebuilding effort will be directed by the newly formed Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, authorized by Parliament under urgency on April 14.

The Christchurch alliance includes CERA, the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Christchurch City Council, Fulton Hogan, Downer Construction, Fletcher Construction, MacDow New Zealand and City Care.

The alliance will operate under a 120 day interim agreement.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the interim agreement marks an important milestone. "We have a lot of work to do to rebuild our city, and I am pleased to see the progress we are making. Alliance partnerships are a proven way of delivering the best results on major infrastructure projects and I am heartened to know we will be working with experienced contractors who know our city so we can achieve the best outcome."

Council General Manager Capital Programme Kevin Locke said city staff worked with New Zealand Transport Agency, NZTA, to determine how best to deliver the large-scale rebuild of city infrastructure and he is convinced that an alliance is the best way forward.

"It has been demonstrated that this way of working brings innovation and value for money to projects," said Locke. "Where the model has been used by NZTA elsewhere in New Zealand, it has resulted in opportunities for innovation, reduced start-up times and the completion of projects ahead of schedule," he said. "For example, in Auckland the Manakau Harbour Crossing was delivered nearly 12 months ahead of schedule and under budget."

CERA will lead the recovery strategy, policy and planning; coordination and planning of infrastructure; all individual building inquiries; cordon management including access schemes for business, temporary and residents; demolitions and debris management; the Cashel Mall Re:Start project; and business communications.

CERA also will be responsible for economic recovery coordination as well as skills and workforce planning.

The Council will be responsible for water and waste issues; roading and traffic management; kerbside collections; water conservation and restrictions, including the state of the city's waterways which will be shared in conjunction with Environment Canterbury; and a rodent management plan.

Also, the Council will be responsible for earthquake prone building policy; heritage; resource consents; Central Business District business putrescence cleaning; and flood protection.

Mayor Parker said his concern that the central government would insist that the City Council sell its assets to pay for earthquake recovery was put to rest by Earthquake Recovery Minister Brownlee.

"Brownlee has made it very clear to both the media and to me personally that he has no intention of insisting that the Council sell its assets, including our council companies, to fund the earthquake recovery bill," said the mayor.

The Council owns land within the four avenues that define the Central Business District. "At some point the Council may consider the transfer of the property to achieve the desired result of rebuilding our city," the mayor said. "However, any decision would be made by the Council and would not come at the direction of the Government."

Mayor Parker today invited all Christchurch residents to get involved with recovery planning for the Central City through stakeholder workshops, panel discussions, focus groups and social media events.

"We are holding a Community Expo at the CBS Arena on Saturday 14 May and Sunday 15 May for residents to share their ideas on the redevelopment of the Central City. We need everyone's ideas if we are to create a Central City where people want to live work and play," the mayor said.

"The community has until the end of June to share their ideas before the draft Central City Plan is written, and in line with government legislation, is released for formal public consultation. During this phase the public will be asked to comment on the content of the Plan, through submissions and taking part in Council hearings," Mayor Parker explained. In December, the Central City Plan will be presented to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.