SkyCity convention centre consent will be non-notified

SkyCity says Auckland convention centre project will be non-notified consent

By Tina Morrison

July 10 (BusinessDesk) - SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand's only listed casino company, said the resource consent application for its planned Auckland convention centre will proceed on a non-notified basis, allowing it to be processed quicker.

SkyCity expects a final resource consent decision over the next few months, which would allow the company to ink a binding building works contract by October and start construction by the end of the year, chief executive Nigel Morrison said in a statement. A notified consent process could have added six months to the process.

The timing matters to SkyCity as the $458 million worth of gaming concessions it negotiated with the government as part of the convention centre deal kick in as soon as the building contract is signed.

The 33,000 square metre facility will be the largest purpose-built convention centre in the country, capable of hosting meetings of 3,150 people, two concurrent events of 1,200 delegates each, and one-off events of 4,200 people. SkyCity pulled back its plans for the project after the government refused to fund a cost blowout. It has estimated the total project cost of the re-designed centre to be between $450 million to $470 million, down from $530 million estimated last December.

Shares in SkyCtiy advanced 1.2 percent to $4.25 and have gained 8.3 percent so far this year. The stock is recommended as a 'buy' according to the average rating of analysts polled by Reuters.

(BusinessDesk)

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