Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has restructured the Transmission Gully (Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata) Motorway Project after reaching an agreement with Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) and its subcontractors.
The restructure includes a commercial settlement and resolves all previous disputes and differences between the parties.
Andrew Robertson, National Manager, Commercial Delivery, says the agreement is in the best interests of taxpayers and the Government, and means litigation currently before the High Court ends.
“The PPP has delivered a major piece of infrastructure for the Wellington region that to date, has proven its value in regional resilience and connectivity.”
“This settlement gives NZTA responsibility for project completion and involves it taking a more significant role in ongoing operations and maintenance. It also removes the uncertainty that ongoing, and potentially lengthy, legal proceedings would bring. Quite simply, it allows us to move forward with certainty,” Mr Robertson says.
While other details of the settlement are confidential, the arrangement also:
- facilitates the exit of CPB Contractors and HEB Construction Joint Venture from the project, and
- sees Ventia continue to operate and maintain the motorway.
Mr Robertson says the contract with WGP remains.
“Quarterly repayments to WGP will continue and will repay the capital it raised to build Transmission Gully.
“The agreement became effective this week and involves a transition phase of up to three months,” Mr Robertson says.
He says the changes do not affect road users and do not increase the cost of Transmission Gully to taxpayers.
“Transmission Gully has been open to the public since 31 March 2022 and continues to provide a safe and reliable route for the 25,000 vehicles that use it every day.”
The motorway remains one of the largest transport infrastructure projects in New Zealand.
Since it opened there have been no deaths or serious injuries along the motorway, despite more than one hundred incidents where the median and side barriers have been hit.
In parallel, deaths or serious injuries on both State Highway 58 and State Highway 59 have also reduced significantly.
