Leighs Construction in Canterbury says the Treasury's predictions of work on the Christchurch rebuild getting under way in earnest by the second half of next year, may be overly optimistic.
Treasury says investment in the rebuild will now not start until the second half of 2012, a delay of six to nine months compared to earlier Treasury predictions.
Leighs Construction managing director Anthony Leighs says uncertainty about the new City Plan, the insurance market and the ongoing aftershocks are all delaying the beginning of the rebuild.
He says the second half of next year will be the earliest he would expect to see widespread work underway and it may even be longer.