Convention centre fire covered

Fletcher Building’s insurance should ‘‘respond’’ to the October fire that devastated the nearly completed SkyCity Convention Centre.

In an update to the NZX sharemarket, Fletcher Building said its insurers had confirmed that, based on their assessment to date, the contract works insurance policy would respond to loss and damage resulting from the fire.

Contract works insurance is designed to cover damage caused to a building under development.

The company did not name the insurer, or tell investors whether the contract works insurance would cover the entire cost of completing the convention centre, which was due to have been completed before the end of the year.

Fletcher Building, which was building the convention centre for SkyCity, also said its third party liability insurance policy was expected to respond where legal liability existed.

Third party liability insurance pays to remedy damage caused to other people’s property, for example, when a fire damages other people’s property at a property.

‘‘Fletcher Building is working to determine the impact of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) fire on the project’s delivery timeline, costs, and cash-flows, and any potential impact on the construction provisions announced in February 2018,’’ the announcement to the NZX said.

Those expected losses on 16 large construction projects, including the NZICC, totalled $660m.

‘‘The company confirms that based on information currently available it remains within these provisions,’’ Fletcher Building announced to the NZX.

The company expected to provide a further update at its halfyear results announcement in February 2020.

Later this week the Fletcher board and chief executive will front the company’s annual shareholder meeting at Eden Park in Auckland.

The fire at the NZICC blazed for days sending tiny toxic particles into the lungs and blood vessels of Aucklanders exposed to the acrid black smoke. Particulate

levels in the air in Queen St were more than five times national air quality standards.

The cause of the blaze is not known. Early news reports speculated it may have been caused by an unattended blowtorch.

SkyCity told investors earlier this month that the fire-damaged convention centre would not be ready for 2021 bookings.

SkyCity chief executive Graeme Stephens said it was unclear what the impact beyond 2021 would be for the venue.

The announcement rules out any possibility of repairs being in place in time for Apec that year.