Press release – for immediate release

5 April 2007

Western Ring Route tolling decision a setback

The New Zealand Contractors’ Federation sees the decision to reject funding the Western Ring Route through tolls as a setback to the Auckland region.

“News that Transit has decided to reject tolling on the Western Ring Route in Auckland is not only a blow for the city, but for the country as a whole,” says NZCF chief executive Richard Michael.

The Government has done its best to provide certainty to the industry and the community over the future shape of New Zealand’s transport infrastructure.

“This decision has considerably undermined that certainty. Certainty of funding is essential for large-scale roading projects given the amount of scarce resources that need to be committed to their construction. The industry has invested a considerable amount of resources to gear up for an increased workload, at great expense,” says Mr Michael.

With a booming economy and the upcoming Rugby World Cup, decisions that help to restrain the construction of desperately needed infrastructure couldn’t come at a worse time, says Mr Michael.

“It is now critical that the Government quickly comes up with a new funding plan for this and other essential national infrastructure projects.”

ENDS

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