A central Christchurch park has drawn global interest from companies looking to be part of the city's first major recovery project.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) received 28 responses on the Avon River precinct across the three fields - design, project management and quantity surveying.

The precinct, a series of parks along the central-city banks of the river, is the first anchor project in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan to get under way.

Cera called for expressions of interest last month.

The responses will be shortlisted by today, and requests for more detailed proposals will be sent to preferred candidates by Friday next week.

A Cera spokesman said there was international interest among the responses.

The project includes part of the northern and eastern frames bordering the central business district.

"They're all going to be potentially areas of public green space."

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer, with the project being delivered in stages by 2014.

Cera also received four tenders from organisations to provide philanthropic and corporate fundraising services for the rebuild.

They will considered by an assessment panel today.

Cera chief executive Roger Sutton said the authority aimed to have a philanthropic strategy in place by the end of next month.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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