Project

Aotearoa New Zealand values a safe and secure Antarctica and wants to protect the region as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science. Aotearoa New Zealand has had a permanent presence in Antarctica at Scott Base since 1957, where continuous scientific research has been conducted.

New Zealand is one of the 12 original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. New Zealand maintains a pre-eminent role in the Antarctic Treaty System and strategic relationships with other national Antarctic programmes.

To have influence in the Antarctic Treaty System, New Zealand must continue to:

• Have a credible ongoing presence in Antarctica, particularly in the Ross Sea region, and
• Conduct high quality Antarctic science.

In addition to our presence on the ice, New Zealand’s interests are enhanced through the position of Christchurch as an Antarctic gateway city. In 2017, this brought over $190 million directly to the New Zealand economy.

Scott Base enables the permanent presence in Antarctica that underpins New Zealand’s strategic interests.

Scott Base has been continuously occupied since its establishment in 1957 and has had numerous upgrades and additions. The last major infrastructure investments occurred in the 1980s and mid-1990s.

The current base has served New Zealand well – and far longer than ever expected – but the buildings, facilities and systems are deteriorating and need to be replaced.

Designing, building and transporting a new base to Antarctica is an exciting yet challenging task that will take longer to deliver than if the same project was built in New Zealand. Designing and constructing a building of this magnitude in Antarctica takes at least ten years. Antarctica New Zealand’s aim is to have the base complete by 2030, so the building process is already well underway.

The vision of the Scott Base Redevelopment is to provide a safe, fit-for-purpose, environmentally sustainable scientific research base that will support New Zealand’s presence in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica for the next 50 years.

The redevelopment demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to scientific discovery of global significance and participation in the Antarctic Treaty System.

The existing base, made up of 12 separate buildings, will be replaced by new, safe and fit-for-purpose infrastructure.

The new base will be located on the current site at Pram Point. Other locations were considered, but this is a perfect location as it is one of few places on the frozen continent not covered by ice.

The Scott Base Redevelopment is underpinned by the following strategic objectives:

1. Maintain a continuous presence in the Ross Dependency.
2. Protect the Antarctic environment.
3. Provide an environment that keeps people safe and healthy.
4. Enable logistics to support and enhance high quality science.
5. Maintain New Zealand’s credibility amongst Antarctic Treaty nations.