Almost 12,000 homes are being enabled around the country by a "massive" $192 million spend on water and roading infrastructure, Housing Minister Megan Woods says.
On Thursday, the Government announced how it would allocate money to additional projects from its Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF).
The new funding allocation is expected to fund "critical" projects in Lower Hutt, Nelson, Hastings and five other regions.
Woods said housing developments would be built over the next 10 to 15 years, including public, affordable, market and papakāinga housing.
She said several of the projects would "otherwise not have been possible, or faced significant delays."
“We know the only way we are going to solve the housing crisis, and to bring costs down, is to build more houses," the Housing Minister said.
A bulk of the funding will go towards Lower Hutt, where $99 million is expected to be spent on stormwater upgrades to enable 3500 new homes.
The city's mayor Campbell Barry said the money would be used to fund the city's RiverLink and Valley Floor intensification project with 2km of new stormwater infrastructure.
"This funding is a significant gain as it will enable us to undertake desperately needed infrastructure investment to support the building of new homes as part of RiverLink and on our valley floor."
Meanwhile, Nelson City Council expects a 10-fold increase in the number of central city residents as a result of a $36 million allocation to improve the area's water and transport infrastructure. The council expected an additional 1000 homes to be enabled through the upgrades.
In Hastings, a $19 million will enable around 4000 new homes, including Māori housing on several papakāinga developments.
The allocation came from a joint funding application between the council and the Heretaunga Tamatea Settlement Trust.
"The successful joint application for IAF funding with Hastings District Council represents one of our first opportunities to invest commercially, socially, environmentally, and culturally in our people." trust chair Liz Graham said.
Affordable housing was expected to be a focus in Lake Hāwea with $24 million expected for water infrastructure. Around 880 new homes would be enabled in the Longview Special Housing Area and general housing stock.
In Waimakariri, more intensification would be expected with 1300 new affordable and market homes to be built in a large northeast Rangiora development.
District council acting chief executive Jeff Millward said a new housing area would help address a supply shortfall in the small town.
"The development area aims to address the changing needs of the community through medium density housing with a significant portion being affordable homes on smaller sections supporting intensification," he said.
In her statement announcing the funding, Woods suggested the infrastructure spend was a sign of the Government's "strong economic management."
"Our strong economic management and advantageous global fiscal position means we are well placed to build on our investments in the critical services New Zealanders need, like stimulating growth, addressing climate change, and of course housing."
An additional 700 homes would also be enabled in Whanganui, Motueka, and Ngāruawāhia, with around $8 million allocated for water and transport infrastructure in the latest round.
Thursday's funding announcement from the Government follows from an earlier $178 million allocation in July that enabled 8000 homes.
"This means, to date, around $376 million in IAF funding has been committed to critical infrastructure projects throughout the country," Woods said.
"Combined, these IAF-funded projects are expected to enable around 20,000 new homes in areas of high housing need."
The Housing Minister said a further 15 funding applications were "currently undergoing due diligence and negotiation" with more announcements in "the coming months as agreements are signed.
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