Te Rangihīroa residential college was supposed to open next month, but it will now not be ready until the start of 2024.
University acting vice-chancellor Prof Helen Nicholson said Christchurch company Alutech Windows and Doors Ltd was responsible for completing the facade of the new facility, but it went into liquidation in December.
A liquidator’s initial report said the company had experienced increasingly difficult business conditions, and had suffered substantial losses on two large projects.
The shareholders decided they had no option but to put the company into voluntary liquidation to mitigate any further potential loss to creditors.
Among the creditors are staff, who are owed about $393,000 in wages and holiday pay.
Prof Nicholson said the university was continuing to review the impact of Alutech’s liquidation on the overall construction costs of Te Rangihīroa.
"We had hoped to open for students in semester 2 [starting in May] this year," she said.
"However, because of pressure from industry-wide challenges and delays with the facade completion, we are working towards having Te Rangihīroa College completed this year and being open for students from semester 1, 2024.
"The facade completion has been a major cause of the delay," Prof Nicholson said.
A recent University of Otago finance and budget committee agenda showed the 450-bed, seven-level facility spread over four wings had a budget of $104.7million.
Prof Nicholson said the development of Te Rangihīroa College was a "significant investment" in both Dunedin and the lower South Island, with wider economic benefits in not only enabling more students to live in the region, but also for contractors involved in the development of the project.
"The balance of incorporating thoughtful cultural design elements together with meeting top-quality standards in the areas of energy efficiency, innovation and sustainability means that Te Rangihīroa College will be a special facility on a campus which is already internationally regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful.
"It is the University of Otago’s first purpose-built college in 50 years and we look forward to opening its doors to students in 2024."
Prof Nicholson said the failure to open in time for this year did not contribute to the 0.9% drop in student enrolments, which was now seriously affecting the university’s finances.
Due to the drop in student numbers, New Zealand’s present financial situation and what the university is describing as chronic government underfunding, the university is investigating a range of ways to save money, including hundreds of expected job losses, fewer offerings at the university and asset sales.
Asked if the university would look at selling Te Rangihīroa College into private ownership to help fill the university’s financial shortfall, Prof Nicholson said: "Where and when any potential changes will come from has not yet been determined".
She said the same about the idea of selling other university-owned halls of residence.
