Jobs, $20m economic boost delivered by Napier aquarium revamp

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton and Antoinette Campbell, council's director community services, mull over plans for the aquarium's revamp. Photo/Duncan Brown

Over 300 jobs, and a $20million boost to Hawke's Bay's GDP could be on the cards, if the proposed revamp of the National Aquarium of New Zealand goes ahead.

Last week the Napier City Council unveiled more details about its plan to expand Napier's Aquarium, with "high-profile" partners including Weta Workshop and Air New Zealand coming on board.

Today, the council will be asked to recommend the next steps of the proposal are taken, including accepting an indicative business case into the expansion, and suggesting $7million be allocated.

The business case - prepared by the Giblin Group - anticipates the revitalisation offered by a $45-million expansion could quell fears about the centre's future.

Having reached capacity, there were concerns the facility could begin "going backwards" rather than capitalising on its success and reputation, and that it could lose its status as the National Aquarium of New Zealand if another city had built a better facility.

Instead, this expansion is hoped to create hundreds of jobs, and be a unique destination, drawing domestic and international visitors to Napier boosting the local economy.

"This project should not be underestimated," Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said yesterday. "This is a massive project and it's going to have a massive impact.

"During its design-and-build phase, that's going to provide hundreds of jobs across the project. Then when it's in place, we fully anticipate that this facility will be an absolute must see for all tourists in New Zealand."

The construction period could account for about 200 additional jobs, while the regional GDP impact could be about $23million, according to the business case.

Currently, the aquarium is responsible for 92 jobs, and has a GDP impact of about $5.4 million annually.

The number of jobs offered at the finished aquarium could range from about 238 to 338.

With Weta on board, Mr Dalton said the draw of the aquarium could be comparable with its other projects such as the Te Papa Gallipoli exhibition.

"Tourists currently ... go Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, and then go to Australia. But they'll want to come and see this. This is going to be world class," he said.

"It's really exciting for Napier and for the whole of Hawke's Bay. It's an opportunity to put the East Coast on the tourism map."

Projected visitor numbers are looking good. Undertaken by an independent tourism consultant, these projections showed a low forecast per annum of 200,000, a medium projection of 250,000, and a high projection of 325,000.

The average number of visitors currently was 150,000.

With these anticipated figures, the annual GDP impact was sizeable - ranging from $14.3million under the lower projection to about $20.2million with higher visitor numbers.

Today the council will be asked to accept the indicative business case. It will also be asked to recommend funding be allocated in the draft Long Term Plan 2018-2028 of $7million, with $3,500,000 in the 2019-20 financial year, and $3,500,000 in the 2020-21 financial year.

The rest of the project's indicative $45 million cost would be sought through a mix of private, and public investment.

The next steps in the project also include presenting the final business case to government agencies, and seeking their feedback and endorsement.

Today's council meeting will be held at 3pm, at the Taradale Town Hall.