Am Cup: Emirates Team NZ option ahead on cost and time
by Richard Gladwell 14 Mar 2018 21:53 PDT
15 March 2018
The new plan from Emirates Team NZ showing all bases located on the Halsey Street extension - with bases reduced from eight to seven © Emirates Team New Zealand
The Hybrid Base option released by Emirates Team New Zealand has emerged as the most cost effective of four options after an adjustment for an obvious error.
Today, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Economic Development released its summarised cost estimates of the various base options for the 36th America's Cup.
In an accompanying statement the Minister claims that his favoured option now termed Point Halsey is the cheapest, however it is only $11 million cheaper than the Emirates Team NZ "Hybrid" option which only uses Halsey Street wharf and a 75metre extension, plus a 75 metre extension on Hobson Wharf.
However the figures quoted on the Ministry quote a cost of $20million for Wynyard Point aspects of the ETNZ Hybrid, when in fact there are no elements on Wynyard Point in the option proposed on February 14.
On that basis with the $20million taken out of the ETNZ Hybrid the option proposed by the America's Cup champions is the cheapest of the four by $9million at $131million compared to the $140million of the "Point Halsey" option.
It is assumed that MBIE have included the cost estimates for Remediation (up to three sites); Early contract termination (up to three sites); and Site relocation for several sites and business activities displaced by the plans to take over a larger than expected section of Wynyard Point for the location of Challenger bases.
In an accompanying text MBIE says the four options that have been discussed are:
1) The original Auckland Council option known as Wynyard Basin, for which a plan seeking consent was lodged on January 15. It envisages a base for Emirates Team New Zealand on Hobson Point with 74m extensions to both Hobson and Halsey Street wharfs. It requires 22,800 square metres of wharf extensions into the harbour. [Cost: $175 million]
2) The Wynyard Point "hybrid" option presented by the Government and the Council on February 13, which put more bases on Wynyard Point but which reduced from 74m to 35m an extension on Halsey Wharf, while accommodating ETNZ on Hobson. It requires 14,200 sq m of extensions into the harbour. [Cost: $160million]
3) An option proposed by Emirates Team New Zealand which retains the 75m Halsey extension putting more bases on the extended Halsey Wharf, while holding Wynyard Point in reserve, with ETNZ on Hobson. It requires the same 22,800 sq m of extensions as the basin option.[Cost: $131 million]
4) Point-Halsey. This design utilises land on Wynyard Point and reduced to 45m the extension to Halsey Street Wharf. There would be no extension to Hobson Wharf. It provides for two double bases on Halsey, one of which will be ETNZ’s base and additional bases on Wynyard wharf as syndicates are confirmed. It requires a 9900 sq m extension into the harbour.[Cost: $140million]
Mr Parker says only four double bases are now needed, rather than the six required at the time the hybrid option was announced, and this gives greater flexibility.
A consent application will be lodged for the building of bases on Wynyard Point and the existing Halsey Wharf.
That will sit alongside the council's earlier application and ensure maximum flexibility.
www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz" />
In early assessments across a variety of factors, the Panuku Developments report rates the Halsey Street extension (then 225 metres) 20pts clear of the second option. Option 3 is reasonably close in characteristics to the Point/Halsey option - photo © Auckland Council
www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
It is not clear how Minister Parker determines that teams will only require single boat bases, as when a new America's Cup Class is used all serious teams run two boat programs. The 35th America's Cup in Bermuda was the first that mandated the use of only one boat, and that requirement is not featured in the current America's Cup Protocol and teams can build up to two AC75's. Despite mandated only one AC50, three teams had three or four AC45S development boats.
Not shown in the release is the time to complete the various options.
Only Option 1 has been progressed through to a Resource Consent application - which requires the development of a complex suite of supporting consulting and assessment reports and specifications. Option 3 proposed by the America's Cup Champions can piggy back on the Resource Consent for Option 1, as it uses the same footprint and boundaries as that option.
Options 2 and 4 if progressed would require a full set of consulting documents to support their Application, as they use areas of Wynyard Point that were not contained in the Panuku Developments option lodged on January 15, 2018.
The time taken for that process would be around three months - with a lodgement date dependent on when the required work was started.
In its release MBIE says it will proceed with the development of a Resource Consent application of its own, despite not being a landwoner. That is a somewhat surprising statement given the push by Minister Parker to reduce cost, and also with a negotiation over a Hosting Fee with ETNZ yet to come.
It is a more rational position to accept the work done by Panuku Developments, to accept the most cost effective option and the one that has the cleanest delivery timelines.
That solution would appear to be the ETNZ Halsey Wharf option.
For the full media release from MBIE click here