MEDIA RELEASE

9 May 2017 | SOUTHERN REGION

Contract to run Kaikoura Workers’ Village to Compass Group Ltd

The contract to manage the temporary Kaikoura workers’ village has been let to Compass Group Limited.

Steve Mutton, Earthquake Recovery Manager NZ Transport Agency, says the Compass Group, a preferred supplier to the NZ Defence Force, has the greatest experience in managing urgent and emergency accommodation facilities in New Zealand.

“They have a track record of delivering large scale facilities as is needed to ensure the rebuild and restoration of State Highway 1 and the rail corridor.

“These attributes made them the obvious choice to deliver this crucial part of the Kaikoura recovery and meet our end-of-year target to get State Highway 1 and the rail corridor open and reconnect the communities along the coast.

“As of last Friday, the prefabricated units are being transported to the Ludstone Road site and will be assembled in coming days. Compass is ensuring that good, competitive commercial arrangements have been made with local Kaikoura businesses and suppliers so local people will benefit from this the most.”

Mr Mutton says that a key attribute was Compass’s willingness to work locally with Kaikoura businesses and suppliers.

“They are working with local businesses and the Kaikoura District Council to fill food, transport, cleaning and management services for the workers village,” he says.

The village will employ around 21 local staff to cook breakfast, clean and run the facility, as well as local suppliers to provide transport to and from the sites and provide lunches and dinners, says Mr Mutton.

The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance (NCTIR), the Kaikoura District Council and local accommodation suppliers have been working together for some time to determine if Kaikoura had enough accommodation to cater for 300 – 400 NCTIR staff and sub-contractors.

A survey concluded that there were not enough rooms to house all of the workers needed for the road and rail rebuild and also ensure that Kaikoura accommodation would still be available for visitors to the town over the next 18 months. As a result, the decision was made to bring in a pre-fabricated facility, all ready to be assembled and connected to core services on its residential site near the town.

The Government is investing up to $1.3 billion to reinstate the entire State Highway 1 coastal route and rail corridor to Kaikoura.

• Minister Simon Bridges outlines future investment for Kaikoura (3 May, Fairfax)

• Kaikoura eateries to benefit from workers village, Radio NZ story here.

Background on the Kaikoura workers village – see full set of FAQs here.

The North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) alliance and Compass Group Ltd are setting up a purpose-built, prefabricated accommodation in Kaikoura to house more than 300 men and women who will working on the rebuild programme, aiming to fully re-open State Highway 1 and the rail corridor by the end of the year.

Compass Group Ltd was the best-placed company to run the facility in New Zealand, having previously been through the NZ Government’s procurement processes for NZ Defence Force work.

The cost of the contract is commercially sensitive, however, much of the value will be shared with the wider Kaikoura community through the employment of local people for multiple services – cleaning, laundry, lunch and dinner provisions.

The facility is likely to be in place at least 18 months. Even after the road reopens, there will be more work to do for some time. It will be removed from the site at the end of the job and available for other uses.

There are 75 units, each with four self-contained bedrooms/ ensuites. Separate to this, there are recreational facilities – a dining hall, laundry, gymnasium.

The village will generate a large amount of economic activity for Kaikoura people and businesses in terms of food supplies and catering, laundry workers, cleaners and other services.

NCTIR will still require overflow accommodation for those workers who live elsewhere and travel to site. This demand will be supplied by some local accommodation providers and through renting houses for groups of people who are sharing facilities, which is already happening.

As well as the Kaikoura temporary village, there will be around 50 people on leased accommodation on the north/ Clarence side of Kaikoura.

The temporary accommodation will take a month to install and began arriving in Kaikoura last Friday, 5 May.

• Earlier release on the workers’ village here.

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