Rail Minister Winston Peters has announced director appointments for Ferry Holdings Limited – the schedule 4a company charged with negotiating ferry procurement contracts for two new inter-island ferries.
Chris Mackenzie will chair the company along with deputy chair Heather Simpson.
Mackenzie led the negotiations to buy back New Zealand’s rail assets in the late 2000s and was also independent chair of the Horizontal Infrastructure Governance Group involved in the Christchurch Rebuild.
Simpson, a former prime minister chief of staff and an economics lecturer brings significant experience in executing complex tasks.
The company also sees the appointment of director Greg Lowe who is the former global chief executive of Beca, former managing director of Beca Australia and a qualified marine engineer with previous shipbuilding experience.
Peters says Ferry Holdings Limited will be responsible for negotiating long-term port agreements on either side of the Cook Strait and ensuring the delivery of cost-effective replacement Interislander ferries.
“The new board will manage the contractual negotiations with shipyards, ports, and any other party required to deliver safe, reliable and resilient Interislander services into the future – working closely with us as shareholding ministers.
“The board will undertake the procurement process for new ferries and report back to ministers for final decisions and similarly engage in the landside development planning and funding agreements with ports with decisions taken by ministers.
“This won’t be cost-plus infrastructure like Project iReX – it will be a pragmatic appreciation of infrastructure that can continue in service while replacing only what is needed to safely and reliably operate new Interislander ferries,” Peters says
Cabinet will soon take decisions on further director appointments, he adds.
