Demand for services high as the rebuilding begins

Large infrastructure and hire specialists already involved in earthquake damage repair work say demand for their products and services has outstripped what they have been able to provide in the short term.

Demand for infrastructure work would continue for years and would see demand for heavy equipment reignited after the recessionary period.

Hirequip New Zealand said it had brought in extra staff and was looking to bring in extra equipment from North and South Island locations to allow Cantabrians to rebuild.

Hirequip NZ chief executive Brian Stephen said he had flown to Christchurch to oversee efforts to supply materials such as tarpaulins, generators, portable toilets, temporary shelters and access gear like elevating platforms.

There had been a shortage of this type of material available from Christchurch depots but there was a continuing effort to bring in items from other Hirequip sites. "We've been busy redeploying that sort of freight from around the country and additional human resources to cater for demand," Stephen said.

Due to demand for equipment that could not be provided, Hirequip had started a customer waiting list, had more delivery trucks on the road and keeping its Johns Rd site open 24 hours a day. "There's still huge demand out there that's for sure."

The second stage of the earthquake response would be the supply of equipment for the longer term rebuild. "There's a massive amount of work to be undertaken over the next 12 months to two years. It's whether or not we have enough resource to cater for that."

Gough Group chief executive Karl Smith said though the recession had led to an oversupply of heavy machinery in the South Island, customers were now calling in to make orders for that equipment. Gough is a specialist in Caterpillar equipment and rental equipment supplying contractors from its main base in Hornby.

Demand for infrastructure work would be solid for "the next several years", Smith said.

Some major projects would have to wait until the aftershocks abated, which could be months away.

However, some projects were already being offered for contract. These included demolition jobs and the replacement of broken pipes and sewers.

"If there was an absolute pressing demand, we don't have a lot of gear (available).

We've got to get it from offshore largely," Smith said.

Fulton Hogan Christchurch-based chief executive Bill Perry said the specialist in road, bridge and drainage infrastructure was busy inspecting damage to try to understand the scale of the task at hand.

Fulton Hogan was in a reactive mode, conducting emergency short-term repairs on roads and other infrastructure and had also assessed the runways at the airport and instigated cordons around the central business district.

"The first part is helping the council and NZ Transport Agency in understanding just how broad those issues are," Perry said.

- © Fairfax NZ News