By Annabelle Tukia
At 8am this morning, in less than eight seconds, one of the tallest remaining buildings in Christchurch will be brought down.
The Radio Network House will be the first building in New Zealand to be structurally imploded.
Buildings, bridges, chimneys and even oil rigs – there's not much Mark Loizeaux hasn't blown up.
Today he'll add a 14-storey Christchurch office block to that list, using 60kg of explosives to bring the building down.
“The reinforcing in this building is pretty challenging, though it was built in 1986,” he says. “So from a design standpoint, it’s a young building, built to a pretty aggressive earthquake code. It’s tough but I think we'll get her down.”
He won't be the one pushing the button though. That job belongs to six-year-old cancer patient Jayden Halliwell, who was selected by a group of demolition companies to do the honours when they won the rights to it in a Trade Me auction.
The implosion has generated plenty of interest around the city. One group of mates have settled in for a long night camping out just to ensure a good view.
“Nobody in New Zealand has ever seen this so why not?” says spectator Steve Saul. “We're hoping this thing is going to come down really quick and be a bit of entertainment.”
Aside from being a spectacle, Cera boss Roger Sutton says the implosion is a step forward in the city's recovery.
“The timing of this is great,” says Mr Sutton. “We had the new city plan come out on Monday and there's huge excitement about this and this really just shows this is part of a new beginning.”
Authorities are urging people to stay away from the inner-city cordon that surrounds Radio Network House, saying thick dust is likely to linger in the air for sometime.
3 News