Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) said at peak construction, the hospital project would support more than 900 fulltime-equivalent jobs and inject around $100 million into the local economy annually. It was exciting to see several Dunedin-based companies working alongside lead contractor CPB Contractors.
Dunedin construction company Amalgamated Builders Ltd has recently been subcontracted by CPB to build the main foundation slab. This work involves installing and tying steel reinforcing and placing concrete.
Plumbing company Foleys Dunedin has been contracted to CPB for some time providing early advice and design services.
Contract details with these companies are commercially sensitive.
"These companies join the many other local companies that have already contributed to the project to date, and the many more we expect to provide sub-contracting services as the project progresses," the HNZ spokesperson said.
Amalgamated Builders Ltd general manager Chris Dowall said the main foundation work was a good project to get and was probably about six months’ work.
They started work on the project in November.
They had about 15 staff on site with sub-contractors adding 30-40 staff.
According to data released by Cotality this week, residential building costs increased 0.9% in the three months to December — their largest quarterly increase in more than a year.
Materials were better supplied than before and wages were also more stable.
It came as "early signs of a sector recovery begin to emerge", Cotality said.
Connor Jones Group co-director Tom Connor said he was quite excited about the year ahead.
The inpatient building would be of much help to residential builders and would increase demand elsewhere.
"It’s going to soak up a lot of labour and bring a lot of people into the city.
"More people need more houses, so I think Dunedin’s going to be in its own wee positive hub for the next decade.
"We’ve had our last cycle and it’s now time for a recovery and a bit of a go again."
It had been "a pretty hard graft over the last three to four years", but he believed the positive signs would only increase once they started to show this year, Mr Connor said.
"It’s early days and I think the signs are there and the possibilities are there.
"People have got to have confidence to spend again as well. We see that starting to come together with renovation inquiries and things like that."
Stewart Construction managing director David Grant also believed a recovery was taking place, albeit a slow one.
Most contractors seemed to have a forward workload, and materials and labour were reasonably stable compared to several years ago.
The inpatient building would be great for the city and hopefully help with that workload, Mr Grant said.
"We’ve got a big project happening in the city. It sort of filters right down through to tier-one builders, tier two, right down into residential builders as well."
It could help a lot with labour in particular.
"If there’s a big project happening, generally the city is reasonably busy construction-wise."
The Otago Daily Times understands a subcontracting package for work including substructure slabs and perimeter walls at the inpatient building has been awarded to Amalgamated Builders Ltd.
