The Christchurch City Council has been forced to release details on where it spent $40 million dollars on the stadium that still hasn’t been built.

Late last year, the council refused to release the breakdown of costs citing commercial sensitivity.

Chris Lynch Media complained to the Ombudsman on the 3rd of December 2021, arguing the council had a duty to release the details, given the large amount of public money being spent.

As a result of the Ombudsman’s investigation, the council has been forced to release the information saying it was “no longer deemed commercially sensitive.”

The total cost for design consultant fees for the Te Kaha project (both the pre-construction services agreement phase and the Design and Construct phase) is $40,736,555 excl GST. 

In the release, the council said this was the total fees payable to the design consultants. 

It excludes design fees which are included within the tender prices received from Design & Construct subcontractors.

Costs for work controlled by the council include a decontamination contract under the Enabling Works phase, including coal tar removal: $955,462.39 and Ground improvement subcontract under BESIX Watpac’s Design & Construct Contract: $7,039,635.00. Total: $7,995,097.39 excl GST.  

Consultation costs charged to the Te Kaha project include stakeholder engagement: $23,370.00, Newsletter costs: $204.16, Design Priorities Workshop: $9,759.34 totalling $33,333.50 excl GST.

The council said “other consultation costs, including consultation on the additional funding required, have been covered from the internal Council Unit’s budgets. 

The costs have not been separately identified and charged to the Te Kaha project.”

“BESIX Watpac do not want to release the breakdown of the fees into the PCSA and Design & Construct Phases as this information is commercially sensitive. 

They are also still finalising contracts with some of the design consultants for the Design & Construct phase, and releasing the breakdown could prejudice these negotiations.”

It’s not the first time council has been accused of lacking transparency.

In 2019, a Chief Ombudsman investigation identified “serious concerns about the Council’s leadership and culture, and its commitment to openness and transparency.”

Following the report, the Christchurch City Council said “moved swiftly to address concerns raised by the Chief Ombudsman about the organisation’s official information practices.”