Blog Post

Lack of contractors in Christchurch?

  • By Mark Tammett
  • 18 Oct, 2016

CCC's latest scapegoat

It was reported in the Christchurch Press this week that over $300m of projects have been delayed by Christchurch City Council (CCC), many of which sounded like civil rather than building projects.  What's the cause of the delay?  According to one of their managers, "many delays were because of a lack of available contractors".  Really?  My experience is completely the opposite at the moment, at least for civil contractors.  Right now there seem to be a lot  of civil contractors out there desperate for work, who are considering laying off or relocating staff if they don't find any soon - and putting in very competitive tenders with minimal profit as result.  This is presumably due the wind-down in SCIRT earthquake work that the industry geared up for.

If you're a property owner looking to get civil engineering work done, now is a great time to be tendering your project.  As for the cause of the delays in the Council projects, bureaucracy seems a much more likely explanation.
Share by: