- Hon Mark Patterson
A new pump station that provides flood resilience and increased protection for the Invercargill Airport was opened today by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson.
The Stead Street Pump Station will improve the region's ability to ride out severe weather events.
"Our Coalition Government is firmly focused on rebuilding a more productive economy, and building infrastructure for growth and resilience is a key pillar of our economic strategy to get New Zealand back on track. Persistent underinvestment in resilience infrastructure is limiting our ability to respond to stresses and shocks when they happen and is holding us back from further development and growth, particularly in our regions," says Mr Patterson.
Invercargill Airport supports 320,000 passengers each year, plus freight movements, and is critical to keeping Southland well-connected and productive.
The new pump station complements the wider network of stopbanks, drains and pumps in place, and improves flood resilience for the airport and nearby residential properties, and a key road connection.
Previously the airport has been impacted by flooding in 1984 when the terminal was inundated by three metres of water, and in 2016 when a major storm event spilled on to Stead Street, causing surface flooding around the airport and the closure of roads.
The pump station has been co-funded, with $5.1m government funding, with the balance of the project funded by Environment Southland. The project was impacted by several delays during construction, which meant completion of the project was nine months later than originally forecast.
