City rebuild rolled out

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee. Photo / Greg Bowker

The rebuilding of Christchurch's central city will be under way by the end of the year, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

Mr Brownlee and Prime Minister John Key will be in Christchurch today for the release of the blueprint for the rebuilding.

Yesterday, Mr Brownlee told TVNZ's Q+A programme he hoped action would begin tomorrow morning.

"I would hope by the end of the year we're seeing some of those projects either announced for delivery or actually started in the case of a couple of them."

The plan was about giving shape to the new city, Mr Brownlee said.

"Then, in coming months, you'll see the Government be able to make announcements about things like the hospital, the advanced technology hub - what we're calling the justice precinct, etc."

A mix of public and private sector would be paying, he said.

"On the civic type of assets, you would expect that they would eventually be Christchurch City Council assets. And the Christchurch City Council has identified some projects they want to move with over time, and they've also committed in their latest budget around $790 million towards those projects."

It was "not a big expense" to taxpayers, Mr Brownlee said, adding they had committed $5.5 billion. He said the plan kept faith with the views of 106,000 Greater Christchurch people who submitted opinions to the council.