Facilities  |  19 Apr 2021

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Large drilling rigs have made their way onto the site where the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena will be built to undertake geotechnical and environmental investigation works.

The work signals the first for the Kōtui consortium – local and international organisations responsible for the design and construction of the arena – that was announced in late March.

Kōtui construction director, Brian Hayes, says the drilling rigs will bore holes 60 metres deep to better understand the ground condition of the site. Samples from each bore will be sent to a laboratory for testing.

"The work we’re doing will inform and support our preliminary and detailed designs for the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena,” says Mr Hayes.

“As well as drilling boreholes, the sub-contractors will complete geophysical testing, cone penetration tests, test pitting and create monitoring wells.”

Golder Associates is leading the geotechnical investigations for Kōtui.

Work will be undertaken from Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, and is expected to be completed by late June 2021, depending on weather and site conditions. For a short period of the programme, evening and night work will be required to monitor installed equipment.

Public car parks within the site boundary will be temporarily closed for short periods while investigation work takes place. Information will be displayed at each of the car parks to notify the specific closures.

The Kōtui consortium is led by Australian-based stadium construction experts, BESIX Watpac, and includes Christchurch-based construction companies Southbase Construction and Fulton Hogan, local seismic engineering specialists Lewis Bradford, Christchurch architects Warren and Mahoney, and global stadium design experts Populous and Mott MacDonald.

The combined experience represented by Kōtui has designed and built more than 400 stadiums across the world, including the recently completed 25,000-seat Queensland Country Bank Stadium at Townsville, Australia.

Early construction works on the $473-million state-of-the-art arena are expected to begin in early 2022.