New timelapse footage of NZICC shows a project in progress

New footage of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) rising from its underground foundations shows the progress from December 2015 to today.

Now 22 months in, the NZICC is quickly rising approx. 14 metres above street level and is keeping the four cranes and more than 400 workers on site each day busy.

The NZICC is the largest central city construction site, and has already employed more than 900 construction workers since the project began. Already, more concrete and steel has been used in the NZICC than the entire Sky Tower, the Southern Hemisphere’s tallest free-standing structure.

The NZICC’s General Manager Operations, Callum Mallett, says it’s now possible for the first time to see the outline of the massive convention centre and the adjacent Hobson Street hotel taking shape.

“For the first time, the shape and scale of the Exhibition Hall can be appreciated and the skeleton of the NZICC’s structure can be seen, which is very exciting,” Mr Mallet says.

“We’ve been keeping a video record of every day’s progress since we first started demolishing the old buildings on the site and throughout the excavation of thousands of tonnes of soil.

“Put together into a minute and a half of timelapse footage, this provides a unique insight into the progress we’ve made on the project to date.’’

Recently the NZICC sales team has doubled in size to continue the momentum of bookings and continue to promote Auckland as an attractive conference destination around the world.

Large scale international conference bookings have already been secured for 2020, including two international medical conferences that will attract an estimated 4000 attendees and an estimated $11 million economic benefit to Auckland and New Zealand.


NZICC by the numbers:

• 900 construction workers employed on the project since it began
• 3,500 tonne of structural steel erected on site, approximately 42% complete (Sky Tower was 600 tonne)
• 3000 tonne of reinforced steel installed at NZICC, approximately 68% complete (the Sky Tower was 2000 tonne)
• 19,000m³ concrete poured for NZICC, approximately 68% complete (the Sky Tower was 15,000m³)
• 44,000m² concrete composite flooring laid, approximately 60% complete
• 251 retention piles
• Four cranes, including two of New Zealand’s largest (plus a fifth dedicated to the hotel construction)
• 185,000 cubic meters of bulk excavated material removed from site

NZICC key facts:

• Sits on a 1.4 hectare CBD site, and will have 32,500sqm of floor space
• Five times larger than the current largest convention facilities in New Zealand
• Can host one off events for 4,000 people
• Will have New Zealand’s largest theatre, seating for 2,850 people
• 33 meeting spaces of various sizes at any one time