A consortium of businesses has been confirmed as the successful tenderer for the design and construction of the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena (CMUA).

The consortium, called Kōtui, will bring together local and international expertise to design the $473 million state-of-the-art arena that will re-establish Canterbury as a premier sporting and events destination in New Zealand.

Led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, Kōtui includes Christchurch-based construction companies Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineering specialists Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.

The combined experience represented by Kōtui has designed and built more than 400 stadiums across the world, including the recently completed 25,000-seat Queensland Country Bank Stadium at Townsville, Australia.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says the project’s ability to attract a bid of such a high calibre was testament to the work done by Council staff and the Project Delivery Board.

“This final anchor project is one of the most significant projects in Christchurch’s history, and I welcome the Kōtui consortium and the extensive international expertise they will bring to the design and construction of the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena,” Mayor Dalziel says.

CMUA Project Delivery Ltd Board chair Murray Strong says while the quality of all submissions received for the design and construction of the CMUA was high, Kōtui’s application was a clear stand-out.

“The Kōtui consortium ticked all of the boxes for every member of the selection panel; every organisation involved in Kōtui will bring an exceptional level of expertise to the project,” Mr Strong says. “BESIX Watpac has an outstanding track record of building premier international stadia on time and within budget, and we look forward to utilising their expertise through the CMUA’s design and construction process.”

BESIX Watpac CEO Jean-Pol Bouharmont says he’s extremely proud that the Kōtui team has been appointed to lead the design and construction of the CMUA project.

“Kōtui is a remarkable team and from today we are proud to honour the meaning of our name and walk arm in arm with Christchurch City Council and the people of the Waitaha Canterbury region to delivery this vital project,” Jean-Pol says. “We will leverage our in-house engineering and multi-disciplinary construction capability in the spirit of one team to deliver an exceptional result.”

The name ‘Kōtui’ describes a well-woven whariki (mat or floor covering) and illustrates the collaboration between the organisations in order to deliver an outstanding result.

Kōtui will begin working on detailed designs of the CMUA over the coming weeks, ahead of early construction works beginning on-site in early 2022.

The CMUA is Christchurch’s final anchor project and is jointly funded by the Christchurch City Council and the Crown.

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