Queenstown gondola project backed by Rod Drury receives conditional endorsement

BusinessDesk

12 Dec, 2025 03:29 AMQuick Read

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An artist impression of the Queenstown Cable Car.

A proposed $400 million gondola public transport system for Queenstown has received a conditional endorsement from the Infrastructure Commission, as it seeks entry into the fast-track programme.

The Southern Infrastructure project, backed by Xero founder Rod Drury, was among the projects added to the Infrastructure Commission’s endorsed Infrastructure Priorities
Programme (IPP) list, published this week.

Assessed alongside Queenstown-Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) roading and public transport package, both received a “stage one” or “problem definition” endorsement, meaning the submission was considered a priority problem or opportunity for New Zealand.

However, further work was required for the gondola scheme to reach the stage two endorsement initially applied for.

Southern Infrastructure chief executive Ross Copland said he was “not surprised” at the endorsement, given the transport problem in Queenstown.