Two week waka: $2m

The Waka Pavillion will operate for two weeks. Photo / Supplied

The controversial $2 million "tupperwaka" pavilion will operate for barely two weeks of the Rugby World Cup before being packed away in shipping containers.

The cup's first pool match is played on September 9 but the erection of the 60m long wood and PVC structure will not be completed at the Viaduct's Te Wero Island until October 6 - in time for the first Auckland quarter-final.

It will be pulled down after the final.

Ngati Whatua o Orakei paid $100,000 toward the $1.9m waka and will keep it once the tournament is over.

"The purpose [of the waka] was to ensure that Maori had a highly visible presence in the Rugby World Cup, particularly in Auckland from the quarter-finals to the final," said the iwi's heritage and resource manager, Ngarimu Blair.

"The other parts of the country, in Maori terms, need to have the limelight for the early parts of the Rugby World Cup."