Prime Minister Christopher Luxon remains tight-lipped about the announcement. But, he has confirmed the Government’s new Interislander ferry solution will cost less than Labour’s iRex project.
Transporting New Zealand’s policy and advocacy lead Billy Clemens told The Front Page they and their road freight company members thought the Government made the right decision in canning the original iRex contract.
“The road freight industry had been concerned from the beginning of the project that it was spending a lot of money on two very large vessels, but ultimately, when you’ve only got two operating, unlike the three that we’ve got at the moment, that introduces a risk to resilience.
“When one of those vessels needs to go out for scheduled maintenance or an unscheduled event that would only leave you one vessel operating. So that was another concern that our members had as well as the management of the project and the overall cost,” he said.
Despite a decision deadline looming, KiwiRail bosses say negotiations to exit a $551 million shipbuilding contract for the two cancelled mega ferries will extend into next year.
In Auckland, a report has revealed a “lack of confidence” in French contractor VINCI Grand Projects’ forecasts for the $5.5b City Rail Link in Auckland – the company has execs flying here this month to address concerns.
There’s apparently a 50% likelihood the November 2025 completion date will be met.
VINCI Grand Projects - who’s leading the Link Alliance that is building the CRL – is sending senior executives from France on December 12 to meet with City Rail Link Ltd – the company set up by Auckland Council and the Government to oversee the project.
Public Transport Users Association chairman Niall Robertson told The Front Page it’ll be worth it in the end.
“One of the things that people don’t realise is that 30% of our population rely on public transport. That’s young people, the elderly, the disabled, and people on low incomes. There are a lot of people who actually don’t like to drive as well,” he said.
Because of the City Rail Link, Auckland’s rail network will be closed for 96 days in 2025, starting this month across the entire summer period.
Robertson said the disruptions are going to be widely felt.
“Without a good public transport system, you’re actually forcing people to be car-dependent and that’s not what we want.
“We want to have good public transport and it should be made available and usable as much as possible. These disruptions are exactly the antithesis of that,” he said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about our ferry options and when we should expect CRL to be up and running.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
