The rebuilding of earthquake- battered Canterbury region drove a resurgence in New Zealand's construction industry in the last quarter of 2011, following a 10- year low rate of growth the previous quarter, the government statistics agency announced Monday.
Building activity rose by 2.9 percent in the quarter ending December with residential construction up 4.4 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand.
"In Canterbury, there appeared to be a greater increase in building activity than in the rest of New Zealand," industry and labor statistics manager Blair Cardno said in a statement.
"This was true for both residential and non-residential building."
The volume of residential building activity showed rose by 4.4 percent in the December quarter, up from the previous quarter's 18- year low, and following a fall of 21 percent over the previous five quarters, said a commentary from the agency.
Non-residential building activity increased 1.4 percent in the December quarter after falling by 15 percent in the three previous quarters.
The trend was still at its lowest level in almost eight years, but it appeared to slow the rate of decline.
Last year, the value of all building activity in New Zealand fell by 1.14 billion NZ dollars (944.8 million U.S. dollars), or 10 percent, with residential building work down by 865 million NZ dollars (14 percent) and non-residential down 276 million NZ dollars (5.7 percent).
It was the first time in eight years that the value of all building work fell below 1 billion NZ dollars.
Last month, Statistics New Zealand released figures showing construction in Canterbury kept demand for new homes rising in New Zealand in January.
The number of new housing approvals rose by 27 percent in January, compared with January 2011, with apartments accounting for almost half of the increase, said a statement from Statistics New Zealand.
Of the housing approvals in January, 900 were new houses, up 16 percent from January 2011, and 198 were new apartments, up from 90 in January last year.
The increase in approvals was concentrated in Canterbury, while approvals for new dwellings either rose or fell by small amounts in the country's other 15 regions.
The movements followed several months of volatility, with the trend increasing since March 2011, but the rate of increase easing in recent months, said the statement./.