Land beneath potential building sites should be thoroughly examined before construction takes place in Christchurch, the Canterbury earthquakes royal commission says.

The first three volumes of the commission's final report, released yesterday, say good geotechnical information was critical for future construction.

The report recommended a "thorough and detailed geotechnical investigation" of each building site to ensure high-quality foundations and says government departments should help develop guidelines for future investigations.

It also recommended that councils keep geotechnical site reports and foundation design details on file and that there needed to be "greater co-operation and dialogue" between geotechnical and structural engineers.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said the Government was "very comfortable" with the report and its 65 recommendations. "There's nothing in there that we think is controversial or anything that we would dispute."

He said many of the recommendations were already being worked on, while proposed changes to the building code would take longer to implement.

Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand deputy chief executive Nicki Crauford said the recommendations were "very specific and very well directed to assisting with the rebuild".

To view the first three volumes, go to canterbury.royalcommission.govt.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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