Investors encouraged to back Christchurch

Prime Minister John Key has welcomed the establishment of Invest Christchurch – a new facilitation service to encourage investment into the new Christchurch CBD.

The new service, which will be part of the Christchurch Central Development Unit, will work with local, national and international investors, businesses and developers to facilitate private sector-led initiatives throughout the new CBD.

“The private sector will ultimately play the biggest role in the redevelopment of Christchurch’s central city so we want to do all we can to make it easier for them to invest in the city,” Mr Key says.

“The welcome mat is being rolled out for domestic and offshore investment in the rebuild of Christchurch, which will be one of the largest construction investment opportunities ever to be seen in New Zealand.

“Across the wider Christchurch region, as much as $30 billion will be invested by the Government, Christchurch City Council and private insurers in the rebuild, and the money is already rolling in.”

The establishment of the new investor-focused service follows the unveiling today of a new and innovative design for central Christchurch.

“The aim of this new design, and the location of associated anchor projects, is to provide certainty to the private sector, which might be interested in investing in other projects around them such as hotels, restaurants and retail developments.

“This new service will help local, national and international investors get their projects off the ground quickly.”

It will also seek private investment for those of the anchor projects announced today that are civic assets, which include parks, a multi-purpose stadium, residential housing and commercial office space and an innovation hub.

“Today marks the formal beginning of the project to make Christchurch one of the best small cities in the world in which to invest and do business,” he said.

“Starting with a focus on local and other New Zealand investors, Invest Christchurch will provide a quality service to help business people make the most of the new opportunities that are fast becoming available in the city.”