The much-anticipated blueprint for the Christchurch city centre announced yesterday includes key sites for major facilities.
The rebuild of Christchurch's central city will be under way by the end of the year, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says.
Crucial files documenting how the CTV building was built could have been destroyed after the February 22 earthquake, a hearing was told today.
Crushed cars may have sparked the blaze which engulfed the CTV building after its February 22 collapse, a hearing has been told today.
The eight-week royal commission hearing into the fatal collapse of the Canterbury Television building in the February 22 earthquake will not attribute blame for its failure, its lawyer said today.
The aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes throws up issue after issue, with the focus at the moment on the CTV building collapse and, of course, Christchurch's landmark cathedral. The latter building, or rather in this case its remains, is far more than just one congregation's place of worship.
The CTV building could have gone through 100 major earthquakes and not been checked more thoroughly, a US expert says.
The only structural engineer to assess the Canterbury Television (CTV) building after a major earthquake in September 2010 has agreed his finding could be read as "code" for it being safe to occupy.
The manager of the CTV building said the six-storey structure "felt strong" after the 2010 earthquakes, a hearing was told today.
The Government has declared that more than 1100 homes in the Port Hills area of Christchurch are now safe for their owners to live in.
The CTV building was deemed safe to occupy by council inspectors the day after the September 4, 2010 earthquake despite them not even going inside the building.
A receptionist who fled the collapsing Canterbury Television building in last year's February 22 earthquake sprinted out the front door and across the road, turning around to see was building was "completely down".
The site manager who oversaw the construction of the failed Canterbury Television building, which collapsed and killed 115 people in last February's Christchurch earthquake, has refused to give evidence at the royal commission hearing which started today.
The health impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes are about to come under scrutiny in a $600,000 research programme.
The last flight of collapsed stairs has been removed from the 17-storey Forsyth Barr building in Christchurch, ending a complex operation which took four months.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has played down perceptions of a housing crisis in Christchurch, and says people across New Zealand are living in difficult situations.
Businesses in the South hoping for clear direction from the Government in Budget 2012 on the rebuilding of Christchurch after the earthquakes would have been disappointed.
The Government is courting Asian sovereign wealth funds for cash to fund the rebuilding of Christchurch's quake-battered CBD and infrastructure, says Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.
South Island businesses will be looking for some clear direction on the Canterbury rebuilding in tomorrow's Budget 2012 as it remains one of the Government's four priorities this term, SBS Bank financial officer Tim Loan says.
Two French backpackers have been accused of stealing books from a quake-hit Christchurch library.