Northern Motorway extension: Foreign farmland lease deal approved for Ara Tūhono Warkworth to Te Hana

The limited partnership leasing the land is owned by Spanish infrastructure investment firm Acciona Concesiones SL and British investment company Aberdeen Group plc, the decision said.

The Puhoi to Warkworth road, which the Warkworth to Te Hana motorway project will extend. Image / NZME

The Crown owns, or is in the process of buying, the sensitive land, which is in many different titles, enabling the new expressway to be created.

Acquisition is via the Public Works Act 1981; the land is being bought by the Crown to enable construction of the expressway.

The land will be leased to the applicant for the construction of the road, which is expected to take about seven years.

The agreement is for maintenance and operation of the road after it is opened to public traffic for a term of 25 years.

The main benefits to New Zealand are likely to include:

Investment of billions for the design and construction of the project;Creation of about 1150 jobs per year over the construction phase of the project and 38 jobs per year during the operational phase of the project (25 years); Advancing of the Government’s Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024.

The application was subject to a national interest assessment as the applicant is a non-New Zealand Government investor. The national interest test was met.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said detailed design and early works will begin later this year, and construction is expected to start in late 2027.

NZTA proposes two tolling points for the first stage of the Northland Corridor from Warkworth to Te Hana.

The project will deliver a new 26km motorway between Warkworth and Te Hana, strengthening the transport link between Auckland and Northland.

It says the new road will support safer, more reliable journeys on a key route for people, freight and regional communities, with expected travel time savings of around seven to 10 minutes per journey.

It will also help reduce the number and severity of crashes and improve resilience through the Dome Valley, where the existing SH1 is often affected by slips and closures.

However, opponents say the extension is unnecessary.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said on July 30 that the public-private partnership deal had reached financial closure.

The consortium would design, build, finance, maintain and operate the expressway from Warkworth to Te Hana.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.

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