Building and infrastructure

Female and male construction workers studying plans

Home to a third of the nation, and attracting new residents every year, Auckland has a vibrant construction sector seeking skills and capital.

Fuelled by record population growth, demand for housing and pressure on infrastructure in Auckland is intense. All key construction indicators have increased dramatically over the last five years and public-sector funding for homes, apartments, roading, transport and other amenities is the highest of all time. The whole construction supply chain has growth opportunities for investors and skilled workers for a wide range of publicly and privately funded projects.

Why Auckland?

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is the powerhouse of New Zealand’s tech sector, accounting for 55 per cent of revenue or some $8 billion earned by the country’s top 200 technology export companies, according to the Technology Investment Network (TIN) in 2022. Twenty medtech companies feature in the top 200 firms, of which a dozen are Auckland-based. Further guidance can be found in the Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Technology Sector, sponsored by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited.

Proven centre of excellence

A MedTech Centre of Research Excellence operating in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from 2016 to 2021 saw $3.6 million used to seed opportunities, resulting in the formation of 20 companies. Today, 11 of those are still operating, providing around 145 jobs and receiving $80 million in investment, with a total business value of $220 million. And now there’s a new research network in operation (see below). In Auckland, deep tech companies are growing from their university roots where technical experts can find clinical partners. There’s a focus on personalisation, considered the future of healthcare, where it’s thought wearable devices are the first step in an alternative model.

Strong, connected ecosystem

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is home to the University of Auckland, its associated medical school and the Auckland University of Technology, among other universities. Together with Callaghan Innovation, they're part of a national industry-research network formed together with the Consortium for Medical Device Technologies (CMDT) and MedTech Research Network. This community of world-leading researchers, clinicians, industry partners and other collaborators has created a virtual medtech innovation precinct, MedTechIQ Aotearoa, which spans the country’s regional health hubs, and a NZ Health Tech Ecosystem Pathfinder Map.

Funding

Funders include Callaghan Innovation, KiwiNet and Return on Science. Callaghan has an initiative called the HealthTech Activator to de-risk and accelerate commercialisation of the medtech industry. KiwiNet represents the combined research expenditure of 19 universities, Crown Research Institutes and other publicly funded research organisations. Return on Science connects science and technology with top-tier advice and guidance and efficient access to capital. There are also programmes run through Te Titoki Mataora Medtech Research Translator, and active incubators, angel investors and venture capitalists.

Housing

Local and central government are fast-tracking affordable housing developments across the city, aided by new zoning that enables the intensification of an historically low-density city. The sector is seeking faster and more cost-effective solutions, such as modular construction components and methodologies.

Central government has committed $2 billion to the KiwiBuild programme to provide 50,000 quality, affordable homes in Auckland. Also, public housing provider Kāinga Ora plans 22,000 new homes over the next 10 years¹. To deliver at this scale, the public sector needs private building partners to meet their targets.

¹Kāinga Ora – Auckland Housing Programme

Commercial

Auckland’s economic growth is reflected in the commercial sector by projects such as Commercial Bay, One55 Fanshawe Street and 10 Madden Street, which, combined, will add over 63,000 sqm of prime office space to the city. These projects have an average pre-commitment of 82 per cent.

Prime vacancy rates are also at an all-time low of 3.3 per cent, showing the demand for quality office space3. Similarly, industrial and retail space have vacancy rates of 2.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

2 Collier Intl. New Zealand Research Report (December 2019)

Louis Vuitton shop front in Auckland city

Retail

Along with a robust economy comes a strong demand for retail.

Recent investments in retail include Scentre Group’s $790 million Westfield Newmarket redevelopment. Kiwi Property Group’s Sylvia Park mixed-use precinct – with New Zealand’s largest shopping centre on site – has announced a new 15-level hotel and office block plus high-rise apartments.

Britomart train station in Auckland city centre

Transport

To address Auckland’s traffic congestion, $12 billion worth of transport infrastructure projects are under way, and central and local government are partnering with private firms to grow the network.

Public transport patronage in Auckland has had an annual average growth rate of seven per cent over the last five years, with 100 million passenger trips recorded in 2019. This higher capacity will be further fed by high-density housing development along transport routes and near transport hubs.

Water infrastructure

The city’s water utility Watercare has allocated $7.1 billion to upgrade Auckland’s water infrastructure over 10 years.

Almost half of this investment will be used to increase future capacity and about 40 per cent will be spent to upgrade existing assets.

Group of Millennial's sitting around eating in cafe

Success story

94 Feet enters the Auckland hotel market

94 Feet are a Melbourne property development and investment company. They saw an opportunity in Auckland for a boutique hotel targeting millennial travellers.