The Overseas Investment Office is granting consent for investment to the New Zealand Transport Agencies preferred consortium bidder for the new Puhoi-Warkworth road.
The NX2 consortium now has the go-ahead to purchase a leasehold interest in 1700 hectares of land to construct and maintain the new Puhoi to Warkworth road which will become part of the new primary connection between Auckland and Northland in the government’s roads of national significance programme.
The new motorway will extend the Northern Motorway (SH1) from the Johnstone’s Hill tunnels just south of Pūhoi to a point north of Warkworth.
According to BusinessDesk, the NX2 Consortium is paying “more than $100 million” for the leaseholds rights, with a further $100 million to be spent on developing the land before the $750 million roading project starts.
The consortium group shareholders include Accident Compensation Corporation (38.3%), Public Infrastructure Parters (38.3%), Spanish company Acciona (10%) and Fletcher Building and other parties (13.4%).
NZTA chose the consortium as its preferred bidder to undertake the design, construction, and financing of the Puhoi to Warkworth road, saying the process is expected to take more than five years.
Once the road is complete the private-public partnership will manage and maintain it for a 25-year term.
