Update on Repair Bill for Earthquake Ravaged Waimakariri

Waimakariri District Council has issued further detail on the costs it may bear as a result of an estimated $60 million to $120 million worth of repairs to infrastructure following Saturday’s earthquake.

The council has estimated replacement costs for recreation and community buildings, utilities, road and footpath repairs could range from $67 million to over $120 million.

Chief Executive, Jim Palmer, says repairing damaged parks and community buildings alone – including the Kaiapoi service centre and library – could cost about $7.6 million. While insurance would cover the bulk of these specific costs, council will still need to find around $1.5 million for these costs.

Once that $7.6 million is deducted from the total, the estimated cost of repair to other assets in the district is between $60 million and $115 million.

This will be met by a combination of insurance, Government funding and Waimakariri council spending.

It is unclear at this stage exactly how much of the bill will fall on the district council.

Roads cannot be insured and Mr Palmer said roads repair alone could cost between $25 million and $35 million. The Government had signalled it would meet between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of this.

Other damaged infrastructure above ground is generally covered by insurance, Mr Palmer said.

Assets below ground are insured through a joint local government and central government arrangement - of which Waimakariri and Christchurch City are part - that could potentially fund up to $300 million of claims, Mr Palmer said.

However, it was unclear at this stage whether this scheme would cover all of Waimakariri’s relevant costs for replacing below ground assets, such as sewerage pipes.

“Waimakariri District Council will be managing these financial issues very carefully in the weeks and months ahead to ensure we have in place a plan that is affordable for our communities,” Mr Palmer said.

ENDS

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