At this stage, we have not made any changes to our work programme for 2020/21. Many of the initiatives are important for providing jobs and economic stability for the city.

From a new convention centre and resilience projects to significant park and community facility upgrades, some of our key projects are outlined below:

Three waters work programme

There are significant capital projects scheduled to occur in 2020/21. They include remediation work for the wastewater network, investigating our pipes and fixing leaks, and building the Omāroro Reservoir. We have included additional funding for our water network for this year.

Convention and Exhibition Centre

The Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre (WCEC) will enable Wellington to recover some of the visitor industry after the pandemic by creating a new economic, cultural and social opportunity for Wellington and New Zealand. The main building structure will begin to take shape in 2020/21.

St James Theatre

The strengthening of the St James is progressing to bring it up to a minimum of 67 percent NBS. It is scheduled to be complete on 31 December 2021 – ahead of the 2022 New Zealand Festival. The completion date may be impacted by the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.

Te Ngākau Civic Precinct, including Central Library

The future development of Te Ngākau — Civic Precinct will be investigated and we will develop options including identifying the best approach and scenarios to allow informed decision making over key assets such as the Central Library and the Precinct as a whole. A paper on the Central Library will be presented to Councillors in May and form part of the final Annual Plan decisions in June.

Town Hall/National Centre for Music

The Town Hall seismic strengthening and redevelopment will continue. Major structural works will continue for a further three years. Once finished, Wellingtonians will be able to once again use a valuable community asset and venue, and benefit from the creation of a national music hub.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM)

LGWM is a joint initiative between Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Wellington City Council agreed to $14.1m of funding for the project in 2020/21. This will be used to complete investigations into next stage of the program across the five main areas: early delivery, city streets, mass rapid transit, strategic highway improvements and travel demand management. There is also funding allocated to the early delivery and city streets areas to enable LGWM to begin programmes this year, subject to the outcomes of the business case investigations. Find out more about the programme at lgwm.nz