Wellington mega pipe to be diverted due to security risks Chinese embassy

One of Wellington’s main sewage pipelines has had to be diverted due to safety concerns from the long-delayed Chinese embassy being built over it.

Wellington City Council and Wellington Water both initially denied knowledge of the plans, but then came back after the Chinese embassy confirmed they were working with the City on the plumbing issue. Minutes from Mt Cook Mobilized – the suburban residents’ association – also confirmed the pipes were in motion due to safety concerns.

The long-delayed new embassy being built on the corner of Tasman and Rugby streets, near Government House and the Basin Reserve.

“The pipes must be moved before construction starts, as having maintenance personnel under the premises is considered a safety risk by the embassy,” the minutes said.

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China has recently had enough reason to fear reprisals from groups that feel wronged by its authoritarian government. There has been the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong that has seen thousands of people leave the city for New Zealand, it is rising tensions with Taiwanthe oppression of the Uyghurs and other ethnic minoritiesto be growing influence in the Pacificand his internationally convicted human rights record†

Maps show an interceptor line running along the east side of the property. It is a large conduit that carries sewage and other waste to the treatment plant at Moa Point on the south coast and is large enough for a person to walk through.

Councilor Nicola Young confirmed that the residents’ group minutes accurately reflected what the meeting was told.

MP Grant Robertson, who is Deputy Prime Minister, recalled a November meeting with Mt Cook Mobilized and Young where the issue was discussed. He hadn’t discussed it directly with the embassy.

“I said I had heard that a problem with the development was that there was a significant water and sewerage pipeline under the land. I noted that if that was the case, getting access to the pipes for maintenance etc. would be a security issue, as with any embassy.”

The Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, Dr. Wang Xiaolong, confirmed that the embassy was working with the municipality on the pipes under the embassy grounds so that construction could proceed, “with a view to facilitating future maintenance and possible repair of the pipes”.

Council spokesman Richard MacLean said Thursday, after the council said it was not aware of the matter, that it had been working with the embassy “for quite some time” on a proposal to move the pipes. No formal plan had been made. The embassy would pay for the convenience of a diversion, MacLean said.

The site is bordered by Tasman St, Rugby St, Belfast St and Douglas St. Much of the land was bought from Foodstuffs around 2005 with plans for a Pak’n Save supermarket and apartment complex. But the plans never materialized and the Chinese embassy bought the country in 2014.

Wellington City Council approved funds for the new embassy in 2018.

But it has stood empty ever since, and in 2019 the embassy ignored pleas to save and bowl two unique 1912 houses on the site. The entire site is now rated at $30.7 million. Most of it was reportedly bought for about $16 million.

Correction: The pipe under the embassy was previously called The Interceptor. Wellington Water claimed this was wrong, so the story was changed to the “main lineage”. Wellington Water then said it was wrong and it was an interceptor pipe – though not the “central interceptor”