Lawyers get $1.7m for road
While Wellingtonians have waited year after year for Transmission Gully to be built, lawyers have been paid $1.7 million for work on the project.
The 27km motorway is behind schedule and will now cost $1.25 billion after massive budget blowouts.
The road is being built through a public-private partnership (PPP), the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), with CPB Contractors and HEB Construction sub-contracted to carry out the design and construction.
NZTA Waka Kotahi has confirmed it spent $1,757,410 for lawyers and legal related costs on the PPP since the contract was signed in 2014.
The figures were revealed in response to a written parliamentary question by Green Party transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter.
Genter said the experience of Transmission Gully showed PPPs should not be used for delivering large transport infrastructure projects.
“The public private procurement model was touted as a way to save money, but it has proven to be extremely costly.
“It’s $1.7 million that could be going to actual improvements in infrastructure rather than to lawyers.”
NZTA has been left with no other option but to negotiate major settlements with contractors after Covid19, the Kaiko¯ura earthquake, and severe weather events.
These settlements have sent the cost of the project skyrocketing from $850 million to $1.25b.
A Waka Kotahi spokesperson said NZTAhad taken a careful and considered approach to reach a settlement agreement earlier this year which closed all contract claims and issues.
Those most recent negotiations concluded to the tune of $208.5m.
The agency noted the $1.7m spent in legal costs represented 0.14 per cent of the overall project cost, which was not unusual for large capital projects.
“Waka Kotahi is confident that these costs have been necessary to ensure that project delivers value for money for road users and taxpayers.”
New Transport Minister Michael Wood said he was keeping an eye on the project and he planned to visit the site in early 2021 to get the view from the ground.
“While it’s unfortunate the contract the previous National Government signed off on allowed for these legal costs to be incurred, I know Waka Kotahi has worked hard to get the project back on track.”
Meanwhile, a review overseen by the Infrastructure Commission into the project is under way.
It will investigate how Transmission Gully was awarded for the agreed price and whether it was actually realistic.