Road Building Priority For National
April 24th, 2008
National’s Transport spokesman, Maurice Williamson, says if his party gets into power later this year, roads will be high on its transport agenda. Williamson says it is no secret roads are a key part of getting the country’s transport infrastructure up to scratch, and National will be building lots more. Williamson says NZ’s road spending has fallen below the OECD average. Speaking at the NZ Freight Transport Summit in Wellington he stated National will look to improve the roading situation by looking at five major areas.
• Planning. He says there is a need for multi-modal to be linked with road planning. He is calling for a 20 year funding projection for roads, a 10-year implementation plan, five-year budget certainty and responsibilities and accountability in planning to be defined.
• Funding. He wants the return of economic efficiency and value for money to be considered in funding and the need for private enterprise to get involved in funding.
• Governance. There are just too many agencies involved in making decisions about roading. He wants this streamlined to speed up decision-making.
• Approvals. The consenting process is taking too long and planning and consenting is too complex, which Williamson says is putting off foreign investors. He says delay equals cost escalation. A major part of this is the RMA which National will overhaul.
• Procurement. Williamson points to this as a problem. He says international interest in NZ projects must be increased, complex projects need to be allianced, and there must be funding certainty. He again points to the need for PPPs in the roading sector.
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