Non-notified consent for the helipad, for use in medical emergencies, was granted in July, but negotiations between original project partners Wanacare Ltd - the company which owns the centre - and the Wanaka and Districts Lions Club had caused delays in its installation, centre operations manager Richard Beven said.
The $25,000 needed for the project was provided by the Southern Region Lions Air Ambulance Trust, which wound up recently, via the Wanaka and Districts Lions Club.
However, disagreements over the best location for the helipad led to the centre management proceeding with the project without the Lions' involvement.
In the past, helicopters have landed at the helipad behind the Department of Conservation building in Ballantyne Rd.
Since the health centre opened on June 20, they have been landing in its car park.
The new 19sq m helipad, which will be operational by the start of next month, will be set back 4m from the road boundary.
The removal of several poplars and a pine tree from the road boundary was necessary for the helipad to be built at the site, but other planting will be carried out to mitigate the trees' removal.
While Mr Beven acknowledged the helipad was reasonably close to the road, it was "better having it there than where it was ... landing at Doc, having an ambulance having to wait and then transporting the patients to the medical centre".
"With having it on site, it just takes out that process and, like with any emergency, time is everything."
The location was also the only available site which met Civil Aviation Authority requirements, Mr Beven said.
Helicopters had landed as often as four times a week at the centre during the winter period, mostly transporting injured people from the skifields.
"That in itself indicates the demand for the service," Mr Beven said.
The consent had several conditions, including that the helipad be used only for emergency medical evacuations or deliveries and that a log of flight movements be kept.
Up to 44 flight movements will be permitted to and from the helipad each year, with a maximum of four a day.
