The announcement that the NZ Transport Agency will enter into preferred bidder negotiations with the Northern Express Group for the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway project north of Auckland is welcome news says Transport Minister Simon Bridges.
The PPP contract for the 18.5km Puhoi to Warkworth project is expected to be awarded by late 2016. It forms the first section of the Puhoi to Wellsford motorway project, one of the Government’s Roads of National Significance.
“Today’s news marks another step forward in the Government’s strategy of enabling economic growth in Northland and providing a safer, more reliable transport link between Northland and the upper North Island freight triangle of Auckland, Waikato, and Tauranga,” says Bridges.
He says delivering the project using a public-private partnership (PPP) model will allow the project to benefit from industry innovation and funding sources.
“A PPP opens the door for private sector innovations that are not always achievable under traditional public sector procurement methods. The complexity of the project mean it will benefit from innovative outcomes in design and construction that the private sector brings,” says Bridges.
“The Government will continue to consider PPPs for other large-scale and complex transport infrastructure projects which could potentially benefit from a PPP approach,” he says.
The first state highway in New Zealand using a PPP is the Transmission Gully motorway project in Wellington which is expected to open in 2020.
