Manji has today launched his campaign to take over from former Christchurch Regeneration Minister Gerry Brownlee in the seat of Ilam, a suburb of the New Zealand city about five kilometres west of the city centre.

The 50-year-old former merchant banker's plan is known as Christchurch2026, which he hopes will culminate with the city hosting the Commonwealth Games in that year.

He believes a bid would create momentum and purpose for the re-build of Christchurch, which was at the centre of a devastating earthquake in 2011 that killed 185 people.

Manji is quoted as saying by The National Business Review that the re-build has lost focus and a sense of direction and has "been drifting for the last six months".

He believes a bid for the 2026 Games, which would come 52 years after Christchurch hosted what was then the British Commonwealth Games in 1974, would give the city "something to aim for, something to dream about".

Manjid is also pitching a NZD1 billion (£571 million/$747 million/€637 million) investment fund, which has been drawn from fiscal surplus over eight years.

It would be split into four parts with the biggest amount, NZD400 million (£228 million/$299 million/€255 million), going to central city housing.

A total of NZD300 million (£171 million/$224 million/€191 million) has been earmarked for residential red zone redevelopment, while NZD200 million (£114 million/$149 million/€127 million) has been set aside for a multi-purpose arena and NZD100 million (£57 million/$75 million/€64 million) for an indoor velodrome at Lancaster Park and a marine research centre in New Brighton.

The bid for the 2026 Games would follow.

"It can be shaped our way, with Christchurch as the host city, but with the Games spread throughout Canterbury and even the South Island," Manji was reported as saying by The National Business Review. 

"We are building everything we need and we have time to prepare.

"This will be the icing on the cake; a lofty goal to give us something to really focus on and be excited about."

Manji said that if elected, the plan would be a condition of him joining, or supporting, the next Government.

"There's not a lot of competition for hosting the Commonwealth Games," he was reported as saying by Stuff.co.nz.

"It's a chance to reset it.

"It ticks every single box.

"Showcasing the city, 50 years since the 1974 Games and we're building everything that you need."

In March, Bruce Ullrich, a former New Zealand Olympic Committee vice-president, who served as deputy chairman of the Organising Committee when Christchurch hosted in 1974, said the city would be capable of hosting the Commonwealth Games if the event was "drastically reduced in size". 

New Zealand are not in contention to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which were stripped from Durban by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) because the South African city was unable to meet the financial demands.

Birmingham and Liverpool in England, Victoria in Canada and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia have all expressed an interest in replacing Durban as hosts.

Auckland was the last New Zealand city to host the Games in 1990.

The CGF have not revealed exactly when the host city for 2022 will be chosen although an announcement is expected in early November.

CGF chief executive David Grevemberg said in April that they had hoped to complete the process by mid-summer.

The respective Commonwealth Games Associations have until September 30 to submit a formal bid to the CGF.

A review team, made up of CGF officials and international experts, is expected to review the merits of each bid in October.

Cities will then be given the chance to put their case to the CGF before a city is selected the following month.