The Government is courting Asian sovereign wealth funds for cash to fund the rebuilding of Christchurch's quake-battered CBD and infrastructure, says Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.
Today's Budget is unlikely to include significant new information about the rebuild, but will offer "a reconfirmation of where we're at, and our long-term commitment'', Mr Brownlee said yesterday.
"You can say that for the next five years the New Zealand economy will benefit from the stimulus that the rebuild in Canterbury will achieve,'' the minister told the Herald.
"You've got at least $20 billion of new money coming into Canterbury as a result of insurance payouts and everything else.''
But more than that, Mr Brownlee said, "outside investor'' interest in the the rebuild was strong.
Those investors were "coming to town to have a look'' at the moment, and included a number of sovereign wealth funds that invest on behalf of their governments.
During his recent visit to Singapore, Prime Minister John Key had initial discussions about Christchurch real estate and infrastructure investments with that nation's Temasek sovereign wealth fund.
Furthermore, after the recent visit by fourth-ranked Chinese leader Jia Qinglin, "his people said yes, there's stuff they would be interested in'', Mr Brownlee said.
Details of foreign investment would firm up as plans to rebuild the central business district were announced.
But for some residents, particularly the small number in Christchurch East still using Portaloos, the Christchurch recovery is slow in coming.
That is reflected in the figures for the Government's spending on the rebuild despite Mr Brownlee last week saying it was "on track and hitting its stride''.
Last year's Budget estimated the Crown would spend $2.81 billion on the recovery during the June 2011 financial year but the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update in October last year showed it had spent just $1.6 billion.
But Mr Brownlee said there were "very practical reasons'' for the rebuild spending being slower than expected.
"Every time you get a big quake over five then you go back and there's a whole round of reassessments.''
Those aftershocks also lift the size of the total bill. The December 23 quake last year added about $450 million to the Government's forecast quake expenses, which were already running at $13.5 billion including the Earthquake Commission's $8 billion.
But on the other side of the ledger, with more owners than expected of red- zoned homes choosing "Option Two'', which means the Government buys only their land, Mr Brownlee indicated the $847 million total cost of the red- zone package may be reined in.
