The near-$700m stadium will be opened by April 2026. Video / Christchurch City Council
There are concerns Christchurch’s under-construction Te Kaha One New Zealand Stadium may be caught up in concerns of asbestos fire door contamination.
Christchurch City Council has confirmed that it is undertaking asbestos testing on each of the stadium’s 104 fire doors, which is expected to take another couple of days.
The issue affects a product known as FRB board or core, which is made by an overseas third party and is used by Pacific Door Systems (PDS) and other Australasian manufacturers.
PDS was alerted after some of the FRB core was tested and found to contain asbestos. It is not yet known how many doors are affected by the potentially deadly fibre.
Council project director Kent Summerfield said, “Contractor BESIX Watpac informed us of the issue and have taken immediate actions to ensure that health and safety is the utmost priority.
“Based on conversations with our supplier, we are confident the issue can be resolved without impacts on the project completion or budget,” Summerfield said.
One New Zealand Stadium. Christchurch’s New Stadium, Te Kaha remains under construction. Photo / George Heard
“PDS recently became aware of a contamination issue (involving asbestos fibres) impacting one of the categories of fire-rated door ‘cores’ previously used by PDS in production of Pyropanel fire-rated doors,” said the notice on the company’s website, issued on August 22.
“It is important to stress that FRB core and the potentially impacted PDS fire door categories do not contain asbestos ‘by design’.”
This was a “contamination event”, PDS said, and it is still seeking an explanation from the third-party manufacturer.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s head of building system delivery and assurance, Simon Thomas, said the issue is under an “active investigation”.
They are working with multiple agencies and suppliers to “gather further information and determine the next steps”.
He noted that installed doors are safe if undamaged and unaltered, and have not been recalled.
It is unknown how many of the doors are impacted by the asbestos contamination.
WorkSafe central manager Nigel Formosa said the agency was notified of the potential health risk from the doors on June 30 and immediately launched a “targeted health and safety response”.
With a capacity of around 30,000 people for on-field play and 37,500 for concerts, Te Kaha already has events booked.
Features include four changing rooms and warm-up areas, 23 private suites, a function room with a 900-person capacity, and 32 food and beverage stands.
Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
