A $596 million fixed-price contract has been signed for two new Interislander ferries to be built by Guangzhou Shipyard International, with the vessels scheduled to enter Cook Strait service in 2029, rail minister Winston Peters has announced.
The ships will carry both road and rail freight and will be delivered under Ferry Holdings, the entity established earlier this year to oversee the replacement programme. Peters says the Government’s revised approach has reduced the overall cost of the project to under $2b, with the Crown’s contribution remaining below the $1.7b budgeted.
Each ferry will be 200m long and 28m wide with capacity for 1530 passengers and 2.4km of lanes for trucks and 40 rail wagons.
The new Interislander ferries will be diesel–electric hybrids, using diesel engines (capable of running on biofuel) to generate power for propulsion and onboard systems. They will also carry batteries that can store energy, supplement engine power and be recharged both at sea and from shore.
Ferry Holdings says the hybrid design will reduce fuel use and lower environmental impacts.
“Two new ferries serving road and rail will enter Cook Strait service in 2029, thanks to a $596 million fixed price contract between Ferry Holdings and experienced shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International,” Peters says.
He says the revised programme will save taxpayers $2.3 b after the Government abandoned the much larger infrastructure scope developed under the previous project.
“Spending less than $1.7 billion means the taxpayer has saved $2.3 billion while still getting the ferries and infrastructure they want, because we have done away with the expensive consultants who hijacked the project by adding more and more infrastructure until Treasury warned the project would cost $4 billion.”
Infrastructure costs will be recovered through port fees over the life of the vessels, and Peters says Interislander will be expected to build sufficient reserves to fund its next generation of ships in about 30 years.
“Funding spent on infrastructure will be recovered over the life of the new Interislander ferries and infrastructure through port fees paid from Interislander revenue, and Interislander will be expected to build sufficient reserves to buy new ferries again in 30 years – or put simply, structured like a normal business.”
Peters acknowledged Ferry Holdings, CentrePort, Port Marlborough and KiwiRail for what he described as a more disciplined and pragmatic approach to the project.
“We extend our thanks to the Ferry Holdings board and management team and the pragmatists at CentrePort, Port Marlborough and KiwiRail who heard the clarion call for fiscal discipline to secure the Strait.”
Ferry Holdings will lead the infrastructure delivery, supported contractually by the two ports and KiwiRail. Peters says efforts will be made to minimise disruption to both Interislander and Bluebridge operations.
He will travel to Guangzhou next week with the Ferry Holdings chair and ships programme director to mark the agreement with the shipyard and reinforce wider trade ties with China.
