2 December 2004

Christchurch City Council applauds Engine Centre opening

Christchurch City Council welcomes today’s official opening of Christchurch Engine Centre’s new facilities for the maintenance, repair, overhaul and testing of V2500 jet aircraft engines.

The City Council last year decided to put up $20 million to help develop the test cell for the new engineering arm of the Christchurch Engine Centre, jointly owned by Air New Zealand and United States company Pratt & Whitney.

At the time of its decision to contribute to the project, the Council heard that the expansion of the Christchurch Engine Centre meant job security for the existing skilled workforce plus many potential new jobs, and more than $30m a year in direct earnings for the local economy was at stake, almost all of it from overseas.

The Council’s relationship with Christchurch Engine Centre is as landlord, through a company the Council owns called Jet Engine Facility Ltd.

Ian Hay, the City Council’s General Manager of Strategic Development, says the arrangement ensures the Council receives a positive return for its investment as well as helping ensure the city remains as an important aircraft servicing centre for the Asia-Pacific region.

“Christchurch City Council is pleased that the project has reached this important milestone and congratulates everyone involved, from the principal operators to the many local contracting firms and equipment suppliers who have worked on it,” Mr Hay says.

“The City Council’s aim has been to ensure that Christchurch City’s reputation continues to grow as a home for the development and application of modern technology and I’m confident that Christchurch Engine Centre now has the new facilities it needs to contribute to that and to the general economic welfare of the city and region.”

ENDS

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