The New Zealand Transport Agency has published its Major Transport Projects Pipeline, laying out the phases it plans to implement the Roads of National Significance and public transport projects.
The Roads of National Significance (RONS) have been a key transport priority for the government, but it has been dogged by questions over their costs and their implementation.
The latest update shows five projects have been put into a slow lane, with their implementation dates unclear.
Describing the pipeline as an attempt to “recalibrate people’s expectations”, Transport Minister Chris Bishop acknowledged not all projects could start immediately, and it took time to get projects ready for construction.
He conceded National’s 2023 commitments were “very ambitious”, but the world had also changed since then too.
“In our defence, things have changed in the last couple of years. One is the global economy and the New Zealand economy has been buffeted around by Donald Trump’s tariffs last year and obviously, most recently, the fuel crisis this year as well. And that has materially changed the circumstances and changed the economic situation.”
He said the construction sector had been keen to see a pipeline so it had more clarity on what was coming to market and when.
“The pipeline shows why a phased approach to delivering the Roads of National Significance is important,” he said.
He expected that by early next year, six RONS would be under construction.
Four are already under construction: (Ōtaki to north of Levin, the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, Takitimu North Link Stage 1, and SH29 Tauriko West), one is due to start by the end of the year (Northland Expressway Stage 1), and another has procurement underway (Cambridge to Piarere).
Ōtaki to north of Levin is among projects already underway.
NZTA Waka Kotahi
A further 10 RONS were preparing for construction and route protection, and either ready for implementation or awaiting funding.
These included Belfast to Pegasus, which had been granted provisional consent. Takitimu North Link Stage 2 has received consent through the government’s Fast Track programme.
Five projects in slow lane
Five projects were continuing more slowly, and still in the investment case phase.
These were: the Hope Bypass Stage 2, Sections 2 and 3 of the Northland Expressway (excluding the Brynderwyns), Auckland’s East West Link, Mill Road (Alfriston to Drury), and Petone to Grenada.
Bishop said NZTA had taken into account near-term deliverability and benefit-cost ratios, as well as ensuring there was a regional spread, when deciding which projects to prioritise.
Timings on when exactly those projects may progress further was not made clear, but Bishop said the government remained committed to the RONS programme.
“They are significant projects. Multi-year, multi-billion dollar investments that will be economy enhancing and productivity enhancing for growth around the country.”
Bishop said phasing the programme was because the wider transport network also needed investment.
“I think people are pretty realistic and reasonable. They know it takes time to build projects, and they expect things to happen in stages.”
Based on previous estimates, it would cost $56 billion to deliver the programme in full over 20 years.
The Infrastructure Commission has previously said that funding those RONS in the same way other roads are funded would require a 70 percent increase to fuel excise and road user charges. Bishop has been reluctant to pursue this, preferring to make the RONS user-pays.
He said fuel excise duty had fallen in real terms by 21 percent since the last increase in 2020. Construction costs, not helped by the war in the Middle East, had risen significantly in the same period.
He repeated the government was “unlikely” to raise the fuel excise duty next year, but a decision would be made in the next few weeks.
Brett Gliddon, left, with Chris Bishop at the briefing.
RNZ / Calvin Samuel
NZTA chief executive Brett Gliddon said it was “no secret” there were pressures on the National Land Transport Fund, which meant the agency had to make strong prioritisation decisions.
“It doesn’t solve every problem, and there’s a lot of hard trade-offs. But we have to manage those within the funding constraints that we’ve got, which is what we’re trying to do.”
Labour calls it a wishlist, not a plan
Labour said the government had shown many of its flagship projects were still years away, with some only proceeding as funding became available.
Labour’s transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere
RNZ / Angus Dreaver
“That’s not a transport plan, that’s a wishlist. National promised communities these projects would be delivered. Now it’s quietly admitting many have no funding to get built,” said Labour’s transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere.
Utikere said the government had handed industry caveats, phases, and projects that may or may not happen.
“They over-promised, under-budgeted and are now walking back the certainty they sold at the election.”
Anticipating the opposition’s criticism, Bishop said he would not take “lectures” from Labour on roading.
“They cancelled all of the roads that were being built. We’re now getting on with the job of rebuilding the pipeline that they smashed during their time in government.”
Asked by RNZ whether Labour would commit to seeing the projects through, Utikere said he would need to look at the costings, but accepted certainty was important.
“Where delivery is underway, where contracts are in place, where funding is secured, we will honour those. What today’s announcement is about is actually a realisation for the government that when they went to the last election, they didn’t have all those ducks in a row, and this has created more uncertainty for the industry.”
‘Pipe dream’ – Greens
The Green Party’s transport spokesperson Julie-Anne Genter said putting projects into a slow-lane was an admission the government’s numbers for the RONS did not stack up.
The Green Party’s transport spokesperson Julie-Anne Genter
RNZ / Angus Dreaver
“After years of pressure to front up on how it would pay for its roading wish list, the government has released less a pipeline and more a pipe dream with no clear way to fund its mega-projects,” she said.
Genter wanted to see mass transit for Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Tauranga in the pipeline.
“Every dollar sunk into a low-value motorway is a dollar not spent on the things that actually get people moving: reliable buses and trains, safe streets, and a roading network that doesn’t wash out every time it rains.”
Infrastructure New Zealand praises clear signals
Infrastructure New Zealand said breaking the projects into phases was a sensible approach.
Its chief executive Nick Leggett said the sequenced pipeline provided certainty to the sector, allowing businesses to invest in people, equipment, and capability with greater confidence.
“It’s encouraging to see the different stages of these projects made visible. That kind of clarity matters for our sector, but we must remember a project is only truly real once funding is committed and it is ready for delivery.”