Project Spotlight: Pūhoi to Warkworth PPP

The Pūhoi to Warkworth project will extend the four-lane Northern Motorway (SH1) from the Johnstone’s Hill tunnels to just north of Warkworth. The goal is to build a safer, more reliable SH connection for motorists and encourage economic and population growth through freight and tourism. The question now on everyone's lips is "who is going to secure the $760 million project?"

Stage: Preferred tenderer expected to be announced by mid 2016 with award of contract Oct 2016. 

Client: NZTA Highways and Network Operations

Duration: late 2016 - 2022

Value: $760 million+

Project: 18.5km, four-lane motorway, part of Roads of national significance program

SH1 between Pūhoi and Warkworth is a key transport link connecting the north to the upper North Island freight triangle of Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.  The route is part of the Roads of National Significance programme that the New Zealand Government has established to move people and freight between and within major centres more safely and efficiently.

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs): Pūhoi to Warkworth project team has formed to progress the 18.5km Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway project as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) – that’s a longterm contract between the NZ Transport Agency and a private company to finance, design, build, manage and maintain the motorway for a specific time period. At the end of the contract, the motorway is handed back to the Transport Agency in pre-agreed condition.

Tentatively, construction of the Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway, under a PPP arrangement, could possibly start in late 2016 with the road completed and open by 2022. It's been said that the Transport Agency will continue to consider PPPs for other large-scale and complex infrastructure projects which could potentially benefit from the innovation and value-for-money that can be achieved through a PPP approach. The first state highway in New Zealand to be delivered through a PPP is the Transmission Gully (MacKays to Linden) project in Wellington.

Contractor: The consortia shortlisted in August 2015 to receive a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the financing, design, construction, management and maintenance of the Pūhoi to Warkworth project under a PPP are:

• Northlink – made up of Cintra Developments Australia Pty Ltd, InfraRed Infrastructure III General Partner Ltd, John Laing Investments Ltd, Ferrovial Agroman Ltd, Fulton Hogan Ltd.
• Northern Express Group – Made up of Accident Compensation Corporation, HRL Morrison & Co Public Infrastructure Partners, Acciona Concesiones S.L., Fletcher Building Ltd, Macquarie Group Holdings New Zealand Ltd, Acciona Infrastructure Australia Pty Ltd, The Fletcher Construction Company Ltd, Higgins Contractors Ltd.
• Pacific Connect – made up of Pacific Partnerships Pty Ltd, VINCI Concessions S.A.S., ACS Infrastructure Australia Pty Ltd, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments (No.4) Ltd, Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, HEB Construction Ltd. 

Transport Agency Chief Executive Geoff Dangerfield recently said “we are very fortunate to have such high-quality companies and organisations showing an interest in the Pūhoi to Warkworth project. All of these companies and organisations have sound experience in delivering large infrastructure projects.  I’m confident that any of these consortia can deliver a high-quality motorway which will provide greater resilience, improved road safety and journey time reliability, and a better connection for freight, tourism and motorists.”

Opportunities for local suppliers:

The tendering parties are now focusing on the procurement process for the design and construct contract.

If you're looking to source plant and equipment, tell us what you need or contact us on 0800 961 277 and one of our Business Development Managers will be in touch.

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I was introduced to PlantMiner by my Director who asked me to give it a go.  Generally, I have to ring around to get quotes. On this occasion I just gave PlantMiner my requirements and requested to be emailed each time I received a quote. I was easily able to track suppliers that were quoting to me and if I needed to, I could talk to suppliers myself.

At the end of the process, I could download all the information into excel spreadsheet and match it with my project management software. Will certainly be using PlantMiner on future projects.

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