“I am personally extremely happy to see the partnership between between Te Taumutu Rūnanga and Wairewa Rūnanga, and the Crown that will deliver intergenerational benefit directly to local people and rangatahi.
“Ōtautahi Christchurch has long been a basecamp for exploration of extreme environments, as one of five Antarctic gateway cities. Now the horizon for that exploration has been dramatically expanded as the city’s aerospace industry grows further.”
ChristchurchNZ CEO Joanna Norris said the purchase was a significant step forward for the region’s aerospace ambitions.
“We’ve known for some time the potential of Canterbury to be a significant player in aerospace and future transport. This purchase brings us a huge step closer to launch, R&D and test facilities that will drive us forward.”
“Canterbury has the perfect geography and airspace for testing innovative aircraft and autonomous prototypes, and is home to the best in engineering, tech and precision component manufacturing.
“We’ve got all the right ingredients and now with this land secured, the city can significantly advance. This builds on the considerable potential of the aerospace and future transport supernode that ChristchurchNZ has built with aerospace businesses, tertiaries and iwi.”
Norris said Christchurch was the first region to develop an aerospace sector plan, which builds on Canterbury’s geographic advantages of clear skies, flat plains, and easy international access, as well as a local talent pool. Nearly a third of national aerospace engineering graduates come from Canterbury universities.