The leadership of industry body Infrastructure New Zealand has urged the incoming New Zealand government to take advantage of off-balance sheet mechanisms to ramp up infrastructure delivery.
In an open letter, Chair Tracey Ryan and Chief Executive Nick Leggett urged Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon to “seek alternative funding and financing mechanisms”, adding that these mechanisms are “readily available to widen the opportunities for the government to deliver projects swiftly.”
The body recommends that the government “draws on funding beyond its own balance sheet” and “better utilises the market to drive efficiency and productivity so New Zealanders receive value for money.”
Last month, the opposition National Party won the New Zealand election, a move that could pave the way for the return of PPPs in the country.
In June, the National Party made infrastructure investment a key part of its policy program, pledging to establish a new National Infrastructure Agency that will act as a “centre of expertise for new funding and financing tools, like public-private partnerships, value-capture, and tolls”.
Industry urges new NZ PM to utilise alternative financing for infrastructure
