A KordaMentha report commissioned by the Christchurch City Council confirms the worst fears of mayor Lianne Dalziel.
The findings are likely to support her call for a renewed consideration of the earthquake rebuild cost-sharing agreement with the government.
Or it may provide moral force for a reconsideration of the scale of amenities the government wants – such as the covered rugby stadium estimated to cost well over $300 million.
The report highlights an expected rise in the total cost of the rebuild, along with uncertainty around the costs to repair the horizontal (in ground) infrastructure and the amount that will be received from insurance for damaged public facilities.
Ms Dalziel says the issues will be discussed by councillors early next year.
KordaMentha says the costs to repair earthquake damage to council facilities are just estimates and need to be reviewed; the council and insurers are at odds and the council has been forced to push ahead with repairs without agreement on final payments; the cost sharing agreement involves uncertainty around the final cost of horizontal infrastructure repairs and the agreement does not cover operating costs of anchor projects like a convention centre. It concludes the council may have to reconsider the extent of some earthquake repairs it has planned.