Tuesday 25 August 2015

Christchurch International Airport announcements


There have been some really exciting announcements coming out of Christchurch International Airport recently.

Passenger numbers are growing well, new linkages are being formed with International Airlines bringing wide-bodied aircraft directly to Christchurch.  

Domestic connections are increasing and the redevelopment around the Airport is moving on at pace.

All of this is good news for Christchurch, Canterbury and the South Island.

We have a 24/7 world class facility with a brand new top-of-the-line terminal that is critical to our city, our region and our island.

Tourism in the South Island is forecast to grow strongly, especially from inbound Chinese visitors.

We have a freight capacity deficit in the context of moving freight directly into offshore markets. This is particularly critical for high value perishable products.

A well-coordinated growth strategy in carrying capacity is vital to our future prosperity.

We can be pleased with the progress our Airport is making. 

If there is one fly in the ointment, it is hotel capacity in Christchurch. We need lots of it and we need it now. Some of it will  be determined by getting certainty around the timing of the Convention Centre rebuild. That needs to be resolved with urgency.

Tuesday 11 August 2015

CECC BOARD NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN



CECC prides itself on having a strong and keenly contested Board election process. Each year six of the 12 positions come up for election. Elections are managed electronically with excellent facilitation by Electionz.com.

Nominations are now open for the six positions available, with the successful candidates being announced at our AGM, on October 14.

Being a Board member of CECC is a prestigious appointment. It is also often a stepping stone into other governance roles. Board members also have the opportunity to work some of the leading business people in Canterbury as fellow Board members. I would encourage anyone who has governance aspirations to consider putting their name forward. Being nominated is easy! 

For further information please visit our website here.
  
If you would like to know more about the Board and its role please give me a call on 03 366 5096.



Tuesday 4 August 2015

Collaborate Canterbury



CECC has recognised for a long time the importance of building scale in post-earthquake Christchurch to optimise rebuild activity.

We think it is a good idea to have local companies with the capacity to identify commercial rebuild opportunities, working with companies outside Christchurch to build scale.

Together with other stakeholders we initiated “Collaborate Canterbury” to facilitate companies working better together.

We have just assessed the difference this intervention has made over the past year and it makes interesting reading.

We have had 566 business engagements from outside the region.

299 local businesses have sought external engagement.

In a relatively short time frame we have achieved 32 actual successful collaborations.

Having this capability has proven to be very valuable. We are now at the stage where we are looking at how we can continue to create value in this space, recognising that what we will do in the future will be different to what has been done to date. 

This is yet  another example of something novel coming out of the rebuild.