SkyCity get Auckland Council resource consent for convention

SkyCity get Auckland Council resource consent for convention centre

By Jonathan Underhill

Sept. 18 (BusinessDesk) - SkyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand's only listed casino company, said it has gained resource consent approval for the convention centre.

The company gets some $458 million of gaming concessions as a result of agreeing to build the convention centre in a deal with the government. In May, SkyCity lifted the minimum it will invest in the development to $430 million and said total costs including land may be $450 million to $470 million.

The Auckland-based casino operator was forced to revise its original design after the government refused to contribute to costs that ballooned out to an estimated $530 million, exceeding the initial estimate of $402 million. The new design shrank the floor space to 32,000 square meters and reduced total capacity to 2,850 visitors from 3,000.

“We are working towards concluding a building works contract later this year, having already put months of work into the tender process and with strong interest from outstanding and experienced construction firms,

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