Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Georgina Campbell
Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Georgina Campbell
Treasury officials will report back to Cabinet early next year with a plan to fund billions of dollars' worth of mass rapid transit across the country's three biggest cities.
Light rail in Auckland is estimated to cost $14.6 billion, while plans for a second harbour crossing have been brought forward with public consultation on options starting this year and a preferred option selected in 2023.
Although the Government hasn't approved a mass rapid transit (MRT) solution in Christchurch, work is "underway" and the development of a network for the city was in Labour's 2020 manifesto.
In Wellington, ministers announced their preferred option for the $7.4b transport plan Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) in June.
They want light rail to go from the central railway station all the way to Island Bay in the south.
The scale of the Government's mass rapid transit plans has Ministry of Transport and Treasury officials working behind the scenes on how the Crown will front up with its share of the cost.
Transport Minister Michael Wood told a Wellington Chamber of Commerce business breakfast this week these officials were working on a framework and he expected them to report back to Cabinet with their advice in about February.
"We're sort of looking at a 30-year programme with significant MRT investments across our three biggest cities and we need to work out what is a rational and consistent and equitable way of the Crown supporting that investment across those different regions."
The LGWM Cabinet paper to confirm the Government's preferred light rail option in the capital is yet to be proactively released.
The draft version was titled "Let's Get Wellington Moving: Preferred Option Progress and Mass Rapid Transit Funding Principles".
Artist impression of light rail in Auckland at street level. Photo / Supplied
It's understood as part of the LGWM process, Wood asked officials to work on drawing up a plan for how to fund mass rapid transit now and into the future.
"Which will start to build up a framework for how the Crown fronts up with our share of investment in MRT," Wood told business leaders on Tuesday.
He said they would consider "sensible funding sources" given the investment will last for generations.
LGWM includes mass rapid transit, a second Mt Victoria tunnel, removing private vehicles from the Golden Mile, and other walking and cycling improvements.
It has previously been agreed the Government will pay for 60 per cent of the project and local government partners will pay for 40 per cent.
Wood said he has been in conversation with councils about how to ensure they've got the tools they need to support that cost.
"We're looking at things like congestion charging and value capture as tools which can potentially A, provide the funding streams which are required and B, which actually might complement the investments we're making."
Ministers have confirmed the Government will pay the "lion's share" for Auckland's light rail line from the city centre to the airport.
