Regional Transport Committee welcomes funding

REGIONAL Transport Committee Chair Jane Nees has welcomed the Central Government announcement today of $495 million worth of committed and probable funding in the Bay of Plenty through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

Mrs Nees, who is also an Environment Bay of Plenty Councillor, said the New Zealand Transport Agency $495 million funding package for the Bay represented a 29 percentage increase in land transport funding during the next three years.

“We are delighted that the NLTP prioritisation process has recognised that the Bay of Plenty region and the Port of Tauranga form a major growth engine for New Zealand,” Mrs Nees said. “The level of funding provided for the Bay of Plenty reflects the fact that an investment in the region is an investment in New Zealand as a whole.

“For the Bay of Plenty, the NLTP represents a 29 per cent increase in transport funding during the next three years over the previous three years. This is an excellent result for the region given the competition for funding.

Significant funding that has been announced for the Bay of Plenty includes:
• the Tauranga Eastern Link receives $54 million committed funding and another $87m probable funding;
• the Hairini Link has more than $2 million committed funding for investigation work;
• the Tauranga Northern Arterial has more than $3m committed funding for investigation work;
• the Katikati By-pass has committed funding for investigation work ($108,000) and probable funding for design work ($1.7 million) and some property purchases ($1.6 million);
• Lake Road 4 Lane project has probable funding for design work ($4.1m);
• Reids Canal Bridge replacement has probable funding for design ($468,000) and construction work ($5.8 million);
• Pekatahi road rail bridge has probable funding for investigation ($152,000), design ($164,000) and construction work ($680,000);
• Rotoma Hills passing lanes has probable funding for investigation ($85,000) and design work ($66,000);
• Mangorewa Gorge project, which is the realigning and widening of part of SH36, has committed funding for construction work ($3.3 million); and
• Ngongotaha to downtown Rotorua off-road cycle project by Rotorua District Council has committed funding for construction work ($252,000).

Mrs Nees said that while some funding was still only probable, the Regional Transport Committee was confident that at least some of this funding would become committed during the coming years.

“The NLTP is the culmination of a very challenging process for all involved,” Mrs Nees said. “In an environment of changing policy directions and priorities, the Bay of Plenty Regional Transport Committee worked extremely well as a group making hard calls on the most important priorities for our region.

“The process of bringing all the regional transport programmes together into one national list, given the number of competing projects and funding constraints has been a difficult task and I congratulate the Minister on a National Land Transport Programme designed to accelerate economic growth and productivity.

“While we have outlined funding for some of the major projects, Council staff are still doing a thorough analysis of the NLTP to identify all funding levels for land transport in the Bay.”

While there was funding allocated for the Tauranga Eastern Link, Mrs Nees said people should still make sure they submitted on the tolling proposal that is currently open for public consultation as this would potentially have an impact on future funding for the project.

ENDS

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