Big infrastructure project specialist Mark Binns is to conduct the promised independent post -mortem on Ports of Auckland's costly container terminal automation programme failure.
Binns, a qualified lawyer, is chairman of Crown-owned company Crown Infrastructure Partners and has been involved in many of New Zealand's largest infrastructure projects, including Waterview Connection, Eden Park, SkyCity, the Te Papa Museum and the Manapouri tunnel.
Port owner Auckland Council asked for the investigation after New Zealand's main imports gateway announced in June it was abandoning the project after six years of failing to fully implement it.
The port company signalled a $65 million write-off in pulling the plug but the cost is unlikely to end there.
The port said the write-off was mainly for automation software and associated technology but as at October, $330m had been spent on terminal development to increase capacity, to which automation was central, it reported at the time to Auckland Council.