The Fletcher Building-led repair of houses in earthquake-hit Canterbury is picking up speed and has passed the $1 billion mark.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the volume and value of repair work has increased in recent months, with $72 million worth of jobs being done in December, compared with billings of between $55 million and $66 million a month in the period between July and November 2012.
Mr Brownlee says the Fletcher EQR-managed Canterbury Home Repair Programme is forecast to be at full capacity over the next 18 months.
Just under 31,000 repair jobs have been completed - more than a third of the homes that sustained up to $100,000 worth of damage from the earthquakes.
More than 47,000 emergency repairs have also been completed, while 18,000 heating units have been installed.
EQC has now paid out $4.16 billion for all Canterbury earthquake related claims to date.
