A plan to turn Auckland’s waterfront into a “party base” for the 2011 rugby World Cup has come under a cloud, with local governments squabbling over who will pick up the NZ$84 million (US$53.3 million) tab.
The Auckland City Council voted on Thursday to redevelop two sheds on Queen’s Wharf to be used by fans.
Citing an estimate that 35 percent of the economic benefit would go to the entire country, the council has pledged only NZ$54 million for the project and asked the central government to cough up the remaining NZ$30 million.
Rugby World Cup minister Murray McCully said the central government was not looking to make further investments.
“I would expect them to ask for the funding but I’ve certainly not given them any comfort in that respect,” McCully told Radio New Zealand on Friday.
Auckland Mayor John Banks said he was confident the redevelopment would move ahead.
“We’ve put aside [an estimate] of NZ$84 million to restore the classic 1912 warehouses and upgrade the wharf and secure it. So we don’t know, we hope the figure is south of that,” he told Radio New Zealand.
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