A new centre for donating, testing and making blood products is to be built in Christchurch, in a public private partnership between the New Zealand Blood Service and Ngai Tahu.
It will be built on the site of the old Addington railway workshops, on the south-western corner of Hagley Park, with good access to Christchurch Hospital, the airport and public transport.
Health Minister Tony Ryall says the centre will house a donor centre, manufacturing and testing laboratories, specialised warehousing, and support offices.
Blood Service chief executive Fiona Ritsma says Ngai Tahu will build the new centre, at a cost of $27 million.
She says the new facility is very important to the long-term future of the service, and to ensure the ongoing safety and security of the blood supply to the healthcare system throughout the country.
She says the layout and size of the new facility will enable the service to keep pace with collection and manufacturing demands, technology changes and increasing regulatory expectations.
Construction is to begin in the middle of next year, the service continuing in its Riccarton Road premises until the new centre opens in early 2015.
