Ground has been broken on the NZD700m ($464.5m) New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

The project will include convention centre in addition to the associated new hotel, laneway and extra car parking spaces. It will be owned by SkyCity.

Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce said: “It is a very significant investment for Auckland and New Zealand that will bring an additional $90m in tourism expenditure annually.”

Expected to open in 2019, the new centre will include 8100 sq m of exhibition space, an auditorium with a capacity to accommodate 2,850 people, as well as a minimum of 24 meeting rooms.

Joyce added: “This important national facility will now bring 2,140 new jobs – 1,000 during the construction phase and about 1,140 people in the NZICC, the new hotel, the new retail outlets and the additional gaming and hospitality areas that are being constructed. That’s 340 more jobs than originally estimated.

“This will be a tremendous facility for New Zealand, and it will be built without any direct financial contribution from the government.”