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“It’s not just [in] transport, it’s other infrastructure areas as well and we just take an extraordinary amount of time to get from consent on a project to actually get it built,” McCormack told AM.
She pointed blame at officials for making sure they had “perfect” information on particular projects instead of getting on with the job.
“We’re advocating for a more adaptive decision-making process and also more certainty in the pipeline too, so we can actually gear up,” she said.
“The infrastructure that we invest in is critical to the country and we’ve got a massive deficit.”
Principal economists involved in the report noted the failure to complete the Waikato Expressway in a timely manner resulted in New Zealand missing out on $334 million worth of benefits to the economy each year the project was held up. The project was first touted in 1982 and only fully completed earlier this year.
“This figure is calculated from a $281 million higher GDP and a further $53 million in safety benefits per annum.”
Another major barrier was political indecision, the economists found.
“Other issues to address include strengthening the central government’s ability to plan for and procure infrastructure; it’s also desired the infrastructure sector’s ability to address skills shortages both locally and offshore is raised,” the research concluded.
“Infrastructure New Zealand believes it is time our country caught up and began delivering world-class infrastructure in a speedy fashion, resulting in raised productivity, meeting our climate change commitments and improving the wellbeing of all Kiwis.”
The Government last week announced it was investing $192 million into a range of infrastructure projects across New Zealand, expected to enable 11,000 new homes within 15 years.
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