A decision on Auckland's second harbour crossing has been pushed out to at least 2027, with the Government ordering a new Crown-led business case and a fresh study of a Meola Reef option favoured by the city's mayor.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced this afternoon Cabinet would take control of the project and commission an "independently-led" business case due back next year.
That's despite NZTA endorsing a tunnel alignment as its preferred option.
A market-led pitch from a private international consortium to upgrade the existing harbour bridge was also now being considered, the Government revealed today.
“Despite the great progress that has been made, more information and work is required before Cabinet can select a preferred option," Bishop said.
"The Crown is the decision-maker, it holds the funding levers, and it carries the risk, so we need to be able to direct the project.
"NZTA has done good work to get us to this point and will remain central to delivery, but it's Cabinet's view that the project should directly report to ministers."
The detailed business case will be led by a Crown-appointed senior responsible owner who reports directly to ministers, rather than to NZTA, which has owned the project's development and delivery for well over a decade.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said construction is set to begin by the end of this decade. (Source: 1News)
The transport agency has long endorsed tunnel options for the second crossing over the Waitemata Harbour, including again at a board meeting three months ago.
But Bishop said Cabinet had agreed an independently-led business case was needed to work through funding, financing and delivery options.
The decision means the project remains in planning, more than two years after the Government raised scrutiny on a $35-45bn tunnel plan from NZTA handed to them by the former Labour government and asked officials to rework options.
It also adds another chapter to one of the longest-running sagas in the city's transport planning. A second crossing has been studied repeatedly since the 1980s, with successive governments commissioning business cases – none of which led to construction.
Bishop says govt must 'get it right'
Bishop said the case for a new crossing was "strong" but that the Government must work to "get it right" and in a bipartisan manner with Labour.
"Previous governments have gone out and announced what they are going to build before they have done the work required around how much it will cost, how they are going to pay for it, and whether the project is deliverable," he said.
“The Waitematā Harbour Connections project will likely be the largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in New Zealand.
Transport officials applied to protect land that could be used for a second crossing. (Source: 1News)
"It is imperative that we get it right because New Zealand’s fiscal position, economic performance, and reputation as a modern, functional, first-world country depends on it.
"Getting this project right means figuring out what we are going to build based on what we've found in the ground and under the harbour, not just what works on paper.
"It means being up front about what we can afford, how we will pay for it, how we will deliver it, and how it will fit into the wider Auckland network.
"It also means talking to Aucklanders and the Opposition before the Government endorses a preferred option – not after."
Pushing a decision on whether to build a bridge, tunnel, and whether to upgrade the existing bridge will likely push construction back further into the 2030s.
The timeline meant no preferred option would be endorsed until at least 2027 – past the election. The Government acknowledged it wanted opposition buy-in before a decision.
"This project will span multiple Parliaments and multiple governments – it is important that all serious political parties buy in to the process," Bishop said.
Mayor's Meola Reef idea gets fresh look
Cabinet has also agreed to commission a fresh study of a crossing at Meola Reef – an option repeatedly examined and discarded in the past – after Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown pushed the alignment as a better alternative to NZTA's proposals.
Auckland Minister Simon Watts said the study would only go ahead if the council was interested, and it would be asked to pay half the cost.
"The Meola Reef option has been looked at many times in the past before and discounted as unachievable, but in the spirit of good faith, and recognising the Government's responsibilities under the Auckland City Deal, Cabinet has agreed to commission a further study into the option, if the Council is interested," he said.
The study would be commissioned by the project's senior responsible owner, independent of NZTA, with the council invited to help shape its scope and procurement.
The Government has also received a market-led proposal from what Bishop described as a "reputable international consortium" for an innovative construction method to upgrade the existing bridge, which officials have advised be folded into business case work.
"If the private sector has innovative ideas and solutions, we want to consider those. The Government certainly doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas," Bishop said.
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