Highway progress welcomed

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The NZ Transport Agency has welcomed the Government’s decision to allow them to finance, design, build, manage and maintain the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).

Transport Agency chief executive Geoff Dangerfield said it was a significant step towards improving the safety, reliability and resilience of State Highway 1 between Northland and the upper North Island freight triangle of Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.

Mr Dangerfield said the Puhoi to Warkworth project seeks to procure a PPP contract that would deliver a value-for-money motorway that will assist economic growth in Northland.

The new stretch of road is expected to be built between 2016 and 2022, and the PPP would likely see the successful consortium manage and maintain the highway for the next 25 years.

He said PPPs are a particularly suitable procurement method for delivering great results for large-scale and complex infrastructure.

“The imperative is to achieve this and deliver a motorway that will provide greater resilience, improved road safety and journey time reliability, and a better connection for freight, tourism and motorists.

“PPPs allow specific outcomes to be established and measured – and for risks to be identified and transferred to the private sector.

Mr Dangerfield said that under a PPP, full ownership of the motorway will always remain with the public sector.

“The nature of the contract to be used will provide a strong incentive for the successful PPP consortium to deliver the best possible results for road users.”

The Government expects a shortlist of PPP consortia to be identified by the third quarter of this year, a preferred bidder to be selected by mid 2016, and the contract to be awarded by the last quarter of 2016.

The AA has also welcomed the decision.

“Anyone who has driven this road over the last few years, and witnessed the ever-increasing volume of truck traffic, knows that it’s much more than a road for holiday traffic,” says AA spokesman Barney Irvine. “This is Northland’s economic and social lifeline to the rest of New Zealand.”

No decision has been made on tolling for the Puhoi to Warkworth route but should the motorway be tolled, the Transport Agency would retain responsibility for tolling.