Anna Browne has changed careers from a hair dresser to crane operator.
The number of long-term fixed high-rise and crawler cranes working on New Zealand construction sites rose 6 per cent to hit a record high of 157 of the towering giants up nationally, according to a new study out today.
The RLB Crane Index showed New Zealand had 144 cranes upby late 2021, which rose to a record 150 cranes in the six months to the end of February, 2022.
That dropped to 148 cranes in the six months to last August but has now shot to the record 157 by March.
Auckland has 103 cranes, Hamilton and Tauranga have five each, Wellington has nine, Christchurch and Queenstown each have 15 and Dunedin has six.
Chris Haines, an Auckland-based director of quantity surveyors Rider Levett Bucknall, said the crane count showed significant building activity.
Sector growth continued, with the total national value of building work put in place last year hitting a record $34.4 billion, up 20 per cent annually.
The residential sector had a strong increase in building activity last year, with work put in place up by 21 per cent to $23.4b, Haines noted.
The RLB study found a net increase of nine long-term cranes: 63 cranes were removed from sites but 72 new long-term cranes were added. The increase in net crane numbers is primarily in the civil sector, recording an extra six net cranes, although the health and recreation sectors also showed moderate growth. Those sites got three cranes each.
Queenstown had the biggest increase because crane numbers shot from eight last year to 15 cranes now. Many of those are on big residential sites.
Christchurch recorded an increase of a net four cranes. Wellington recorded the largest crane decrease, dropping from 12 cranes last year to nine by March.
Auckland saw 38 new cranes added and 39 cranes removed, for a net decrease of one crane.
What the new Auckland Airport domestic terminal at the eastern end of the international building might look like. Image / Supplied
Three tower cranes are up at Auckland Airport, which last month announced a $3.9b capital expenditure plan for the next five to six years. That business will build a new domestic terminal, integrated with the existing international one.
Haines said the sector was keen to hear what next month’s government Budget had, particularly for the health, education, housing and civil infrastructure sectors.
That could mean much more building work.
“We are expecting some winners and some losers, particularly given the infrastructure repair and resilience work on the back of Cyclone Gabrielle and with the City Rail Link announcement in March of a $1.07b cost increase and 12-month delay,” he said.
Today’s numbers show a record crane population, Haines said.
“With the overall value of building activity and consents at record highs, New Zealand’s RLB Crane Index figure has reached a new high of 199 index points, and currently sits at the highest level recorded.”
Auckland’s number on the index fell slightly compared with the previous edition, sitting at 312 index points, down from 315 previously. This figure represents a total of 103 long-term cranes, a net loss of one crane compared with last year’s third quarter.
“While there has been little net change in crane numbers across Auckland, the number of cranes taken down and cranes erected are significantly higher than the previous edition. The region sees a total of 39 cranes removed, while a total of 38 cranes have been put up compared to only 17 new cranes in the previous edition,” Haines said.
The value of building work put in place in Auckland has increased by a significant margin, he said.
Last year, $13.6b worth of work was done, up 24 per cent on 2021. This high annual figure reflects building activity increases in residential and non-residential sectors, Haines said.
New cranes are up at apartment sites in Epsom, Grey Lynn, Hobsonville, Mt Eden, New Lynn, Northcote, Onehunga, Ōrakei, Parnell, Point England, Ponsonby, Remuera, and Takapuna.
Crane activity has picked up significantly in Auckland’s east and southeastern areas, with many new residential cranes erected, Haines said.
