20 years ago — October 1998:
• Demolition work had begun on the $100 million-plus redevelopment of Auckland’s Princes Wharf. The first stage of construction included the refitting of four of the wharf’s sheds into 235 apartments, commercial and retail space, and the redevelopment of the vacant space below the Ports of Auckland Authority building.
The final stage involved the reconstruction of the two remaining sheds into penthouse apartments and what was to become the Hilton Hotel.
The design also incorporated new passenger facilities for cruise ships to be completed in time for the year 2000 and the America’s Cup challenge.
15 years ago — October 2003:
• RMBF chief executive Chris Preston joined RMBF volume residential builders at a special lunch in Auckland with Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel.
Mr Preston said the Minister was open and frank about Government policy and direction. Members discussed training, immigration policies, mandatory principal bonding and the need to ensure the industry remained stable.
They also raised concerns regarding consultants raising consumer expectations regarding the repair of leaky homes, saying such expectations were unrealistic.
10 years ago — October 2008:
• The Registered Master Builders Federation urged the Government and Reserve Bank to reverse the slow-down in the construction industry.
RMBF acting CEO Chris Preston said recent building consent figures released by Statistics New Zealand indicated an emerging crisis for the industry.
“We’re not at crisis point yet but if this trend continues, we will be. Clearly that’s bad for the industry and, therefore, bad for all New Zealanders,” Mr Preston said.
“It’s time for the Government and Reserve Bank to recognise the significant impact high interest rates and low immigration are having on construction, and to take action to stimulate the industry back to acceptable levels.”
5 years ago — October 2013:
• A new report forecast the volume of construction output to grow by more than 70% to $15 trillion worldwide by 2025.
The benchmark global study — the third in a series from Global Construction Perspectives (GCP) and Oxford Economics — showed the meteoric growth, which outpaces that of global GDP, will be concentrated in three countries — China, the United States and India.
China overtook the United States to become the world’s largest construction market in 2010, and was expected to increase its global share from 18% in 2013 to 26% in 2025, despite an expected slowdown.
