Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand (MCK) has reached conditional agreement with the Whangarei District Council for the purchase of land located in the city’s central business district for the development of a hotel.

The land purchase is subject to due diligence and approval by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.

Whangarei, Northland’s major regional city, is about 160 kilometres north of Auckland and a two hour drive. It has a deep water port used by oil tankers servicing the nearby Marsden Point Oil Refinery.

Managing Director Mr BK Chiu said that the hotel group was pleased to be part of the development in Whangarei. The final branding of the hotel will be confirmed closer to the completion of the construction and design plans and will reflect the appropriate brand equity for New Zealand as well as the anticipated market and customer mix expected at the hotel. 

Mr Chiu stated that the preferred construction method for the proposed new hotel would be relatively new to New Zealand. “We’ve all watched while construction costs have skyrocketed due to the increases in labour, materials and compliance costs. More often than not lengthy delays have added to the cost of new construction and our proposed method will be a useful learning experience for our future projects which may include Christchurch, Queenstown and other regional centres”, he said.

Mr Chiu noted MCK’s sales and marketing network and its connections with the Millennium & Copthorne global network to create new demand. “A vital enabler to a meaningful and productive visitor economy is accommodation. MCK's new hotel will be part of a nationwide and international network and it will bring visitors to Whangarei. The hotel will provide new jobs and career opportunities and we hope it will enhance and develop other enterprises in Whangarei to the benefit of the wider Northland community,” he added.