A new strategy to try to cut NZ’s dependence on oil to meet its transport needs could save the country $15bn over 20 years in fuel and vehicle expenses as well as social and economic benefits of reduced congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gases. The independent report, Managing Transport Challenges When Oil Prices Rise, was […]

Read more ...

Govt transport officials are considering four-lane motorway and expressway links north of Auckland to Warkworth and Wellsford as part of upgrades costing up to $1.8bn. The NZ Land Transport Agency wants to start investigating a potential new route for a 34km motorway extension between Puhoi and Warkworth and eventually Wellsford roughly following the alignment of […]

Read more ...

Central Govt has to “initiate economic directives” to develop a super port in the upper North Island because parochial Councils will never agree where it should be. CEO of Pacifica Shipping, Rod Grout has added his voice again to those saying there needs to be rationalisation in the port sector. Grout will not say where […]

Read more ...

The latest verbal skirmishes between NZ’s two largest container ports is yet another indication of talk taking precedence over action when it comes to rationalising the country’s too numerous export ports. Ports of Auckland recently announced its desire to purchase Port of Tauranga’s container terminal but this move is motivated more in terms of self-interest […]

Read more ...

Massive economic growth is driving the more than $US33bn in port expansion in the Middle East. The region’s optimism in the maritime industry is founded on increasing demand for oil and gas worldwide, the vital role the region plays as a strategic trading hub as the link between Europe and Asia, and the continuing strength […]

Read more ...

Claims by the Road Transport Forum the Govt’s targets for boosting the market share of coastal shipping under its Sea Change strategy are unrealistic have been rebuffed by Pacifica Shipping’s Rod Grout. He says since the mid-1990s the amount of freight moved around NZ by coastal shipping has increased significantly with the relaxation of regulations […]

Read more ...

Transmission Gully, when approved, will take almost almost eight years to build - and the project could cost up to $170m more than the most recent projections if bad weather or further geological problems are uncovered during construction. A Scheme Assessment report to NZ Transport Agency shows the project’s 95 percentile estimate - effectively a […]

Read more ...

National’s Transport Spokesman, Maurice Williamson, when talking in Gisborne recently raised some issues relating to the economics of various transport modes in the District. His views highlight again the varying treatment different modes of transport have when it comes to economics. Williamson says Gisborne, and presumably most other smaller provincial regions, will never be able […]

Read more ...

The NZ Contractors’ Federation has come out in support of the National Party’s pledge to spend billions on infrastructure over 20 years saying the plan represents an intergenerational investment. The Federation says it has been calling for the development of a 20-year infrastructure plan for several years and CEO, Richard Michael, hails the announcement as […]

Read more ...

The Govt’s 10 year NZ Transport Strategy 2008 has outlined a major spend up. The Govt’s overall spending on transport (excluding rail infrastructure) will rise from $2700m this year to a minimum of $3200m by 2018/19 and possibly as high as $4100m. The 10 year strategy outlines both minimum and maximum funding scenarios and in […]

Read more ...