The country’s national road freight associations are welcoming the Government’s announcement that a Crown-owned company will be established to procure two new Cook Strait ferries, but freight operators will be disappointed by the lack of certainty offered, according to one.
Transporting New Zealand chief executive Dom Kalasih says the Government must move with urgency to establish the Crown-owned company and progress the project.
“Frankly, a year on from the cancellation of the iReX project, we would have expected more progress to have been made towards the procurement of new vessels and portside infrastructure.
“We appreciate that the Government has had advice from a Ministerial Advisory Group, Ministry of Transport and transport stakeholders to consider, but today’s announcement leaves a lot of uncertainty for the transport sector, including around cost and rail capability.”
Kalasih says there were positive features in the announcement that the road freight sector would welcome.
“The establishment of a new Crown-owned company to manage the procurement should allow KiwiRail to focus on the maintenance and safe operation of the existing fleet, which needs to be an ongoing priority.
“We’re also pleased to see the Government inviting the private sector to put forward alternative proposals for a ferry service during the first stage of the process, up until March. We should be open to different ways of delivering a competitive Cook Strait service for the country.”
Kalasih says Transporting New Zealand looked forward to working with Minister for Rail Winston Peters and other key stakeholders to ensure the ferries and portside infrastructure delivered a resilient and cost-effective Cook Strait connection.
Meanwhile, National Road Carriers Association (NRC) says the Government’s announcement provides certainty that long-term options for moving freight between the North and South Islands is a priority.
“Rail will always be a critical part of New Zealand’s supply chain network and KiwiRail, also an NRC member, needs certainty so it can configure its entire operation to what configuration post 2029 Cook Strait is,” NRC policy and advocacy general manager James Smith says.
“We need to await confirmation from the Government as to what exact solution will be chosen moving forward, and we will be looking for dialog on establishing what the best solution is for the entire supply chain.
“NRC is looking for robust plans for terminal infrastructure that caters for efficient transfer of freight.
“Ideally the terminal infrastructure should be able to cater for multiple vessel operators ensuring maximum value is obtained for every dollar spent,” Smith says.
