Hawkins Construction has been approved by the Dunedin City Council as the preferred contractor in the first stage of the process to build the Otago Stadium in Dunedin.
The Carisbrook Stadium Trust will work with Hawkins to put together their final construction tender by the end of next January.
Trust chairman Malcolm Farry said they would work together to secure tenders and prices from subcontractors and suppliers to deliver the construction work. Once that process was complete, they would be in a position to confirm a guaranteed maximum price for the stadium construction in order to meet an Otago Regional Council February 2 deadline next year.
In June, the regional council stated it supported the stadium based on a number of conditions including the trust providing evidence of a viable construction tender for the stadium for a price not exceeding $165.4 million by February 2.
Mr Farry said subject to final negotiation and performance during the next few months, the trust would be moving to the second and final stage of the process where Hawkins could be appointed as the main contractor to the project.
Hawkins, a 100% New Zealand-owned company, was chosen from the shortlisted candidates for its expertise, commercial experience, innovative approach and price competitiveness, he said.
It had experience in construction of stadia, such as the 52,500-plus capacity Suncorp Stadium in Queensland, and Stadium Australia in Sydney, originally built for the 2000 Summer Olympics, with a 110,000 capacity.
The shortlisted candidates had to provide a detailed written proposal setting out their construction approach, timeline, and pricing, including identifying opportunities for cost savings and improvements.
During the coming weeks, Hawkins and the trust would be tendering for the various components of construction.
"We hope that local subcontractors and suppliers will . . . be competitive and help us deliver the project on budget," Mr Farry said.
By October 17, the trust had received a total of 450 registrations of interest from subcontractors and suppliers to work on the new Otago Stadium, of which 135 were from south of the Waitaki, Mr Farry said.
Subject to conditions of the city and regional council being met in February, and the successful completion of any appeals to the plan change, construction of the stadium is planned to start in 2009, with completion in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
