The financial support for the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education & Social Work will mean that the project will not be delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finance minister Grant Robertson and infrastructure minister Shane Jones announced that the government will invest up to NZ$200m (£100m) in the project, which will create up to 750 jobs.
The funding is coming from NZ$3bn set aside for infrastructure in the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund.
“It is projects such as this that the coalition government has sought to bring forward to provide economic certainty, confidence in the construction sector and employment,” said Jones. “The design is complete and a tender process to appoint a contractor for early involvement will occur in the next month or so, with enabling works expected to start before Christmas and on-site construction to follow early in the new year.”
Robertson added: “This project will provide significant employment opportunities through to 2025 with up to 750 construction jobs expected at its peak. It will also allow the university to complete the balance of its building programme in this area, bringing the total construction value to $336 million.
“Several tertiary universities made applications to the Infrastructure Reference Group but this project stood out because it was so close to going ahead, the large job creation and retention of the sector’s skill base.
“We expect this news will be welcomed by the commercial building sector as well as Auckland’s civic leaders. It further demonstrates our commitment to getting our economy back on track in the wake of an unprecedented health crisis that continues to disrupt economies worldwide.
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