Kiwi House gets $2m loan for upgrade
The nationally significant O¯ torohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park has secured a $2m loan to kickstart a redevelopment project it hopes will be completed for the return of international tourism.
O¯ torohanga District Council approved the loan for the Kiwi House ahead of finalising its annual plan budget for the 2020-21 year.
Kiwi House manager Jo
Russell said she understood it was a difficult decision for the council given the hard times ahead for the community post Covid-19.
‘‘We are thankful the council is looking at the long term future of our organisation and seeing that this loan will sustain us for the next 50 years. We know that our sub-region has real areas of social and economic deprivation but the loan has been structured so its cost to ratepayers will be neutral.’’
Russell said in return, the Kiwi House would work hard to help generate jobs, income and economic growth for the community.
It had an important role to play in New Zealand’s international tourism recovery as well as its place as a national breeding and recovery programme for threatened or endangered animals.
The $2m loan would increase the chance of achieving grants from the Provincial Growth
Fund, for the $8m, 2.5 year redevelopment project. The initial work involved preparing facilities so the animals could be moved, allowing the project to go ahead in stages.
‘‘The final two stages will involve a larger visitor and conservation information centre.’’
O¯ torohanga Mayor Max Baxter said it was the right time to make improvements ‘‘so it could be finished when we open the international borders again’’.