Taxpayers fund rocket road
Taxpayer funding will pay for a new road to Rocket Lab’s Mahia Peninsula launch pad.
The money will come as part of an $8.3 million Mahia roading investment by the Provincial Growth Fund.
New Zealand-founded Rocket Lab has carved a global niche in affordable space services using its Electron rockets to put small satellites into space for customers including Nasa, the United States military and private companies.
Rocket Lab is a privately funded company with various owners, including US engineering giant Lockheed Martin, US venture capital fund Khosla Ventures, Stephen Tindall’s K1W1, ACC, and Australia’s Future Fund sovereign wealth fund.
‘‘These roads are critical to the community, visitors, tourists, farmers, forestry workers, logging trucks, fishermen and businesses,’’ said NZ First’s Fletcher Tabuteau, undersecretary for regional economic development.
‘‘Investing in these particular roading projects will give everybody greater confidence in the long-term accessibility of the Mahia Peninsula.’’
He said $7m would be spent on upgrading 12.5 kilometres of road on the Mahia East Coast Road, and a further $1m on sealing the 4km adjoining private road on Onenui Station that leads to the Rocket Lab launch site.
Onenui Station is owned by the Tawapata South Maori Incorporation.
‘‘We know that roads and rail access are vital to a region’s economic growth,’’ Tabuteau said. ‘‘The upgrade . . . will make a huge difference, including increased visitor flow and business confidence in the region.
‘‘Rocket Lab for example, is a business that has already created $18.2m in benefits for the region, and these roading upgrades will enable them to safely transport equipment as well as allow for further development.’’
The remainder of the $8.3m would be spent on investigating whether another road should be built to the Mahia Peninsula.
‘‘The $300,000 funding to investigate an alternative route along the coast is also a valuable investment in the region to provide much-needed certainty of access to the Mahia Peninsula for visitors and businesses for generations to come,’’ Tabuteau said. ‘‘The Provincial Growth Fund is committed to supporting the Wairoa region to achieve its economic potential, and to date has invested $24m in the area for a wide range of projects, including digital connectivity, CBD redevelopment, rail, horticulture and a number of employment and training skills projects.’’
Rocket Lab was founded by New Zealand entrepreneur Peter Beck in 2006, with its first commercial satellite launch taking place in 2018.