Higgins Contractors Ltd have been awarded a $21 million three-year contract to maintain, improve and renew transport infrastructure in Horowhenua.
Higgins Contractors Ltd have been awarded a $21 million three-year contract to maintain, improve and renew transport infrastructure in Horowhenua.
Higgins Contractors Ltd have been awarded a $21 million three-year contract to maintain, improve and renew transport infrastructure in the Horowhenua district.
The contract covers road construction, maintenance and renewal works, surfacing and a portion of the improvements programme planned in the current draft Long Term Plan 2024.
Horowhenua District Council chief executive Monique Davidson said Higgins had a track record of delivering quality work.
“Having one contractor to complete road maintenance and reseal services also means cost savings and efficiencies as we work together to take Horowhenua Infrastructure to the next level,” she said.
The road maintenance, renewals and improvements contract, worth $9 million per year, was signed following a robust and open tender process, with three suppliers submitting tenders.
Horowhenua District Council chief executive officer Monique Davidson.
Davidson said the process allowed council officers to scope the competitive market and compare contender’s offerings and pricings.
It provided clarity on the size of the market and challenged Higgins, who has been a key council contractor since July 2015, to ensure they had robust reporting ultimately leading to better value for ratepayers, she said.
Higgins Contractors Ltd employs 68 people locally.
“We look forward to strengthening the positive long-term partnership we have with Higgins, who not only offer technical competence and experience, but who employ 68 members locally with 420 years of experience between them,” she said.
Before the contract went out for tender between in August last year, the contract was reviewed and endorsed by council’s Procurement Review Group.
It will cover an initial term of three years, with two conditional extension opportunities for a total potential term of eight years. The current road maintenance contract expired June 30.
HDC manages 544km of sealed roads and 51km of unsealed roads, and 7200 road signs, 48 bridges, 3591 culverts and catchpits. There are also 210km of footpaths and an increasing number of cyclepaths.
HDC spends $9 million a year on roads and footpath forming a significant part of the total annual budget, however NZ Transport Authority funds 61 per cent of council’s land transport activity.
While Horowhenua District Council has an advocacy role regarding SH1, SH56 and SH57, these are owned and managed by NZTA Waka Kotahi.
State highways are the domain of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Authority.
Higgins was founded in Manawatū in 1958 by Irish immigrant Dan Higgins and focuses on civil construction. In 2016, Higgins was purchased by Fletcher Building and is now part of the Fletcher Construction family of brands.
