When push comes to shovel many projects not ready

‘‘By the time we actually came to fund them and make announcements we’d moved out to a longer timeframe...’’ Grant Robertson

Fewer than half of the Government’s ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects have begun by its first self-imposed deadline, with just 44 per cent of the 150 projects under construction by the end of February.

Last year, the Government announced it would fund 150 ‘shovel-ready’ projects, costing

$2.6 billion. The projects, including the Christchurch City Council’s major cycleways, the YMCA central city development, and the KiwiRail depots at Waltham, were meant to kick-start the economy with an infrastructure boom as the country recovered from

Covid-19.

The Government said in April that ‘‘shovel ready’’ meant ready to begin within six months, although it pushed this out to 12 months in when the projects began to be announced in July

2020. A written Parliamentary question from ACT leader David Seymour to Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson found that only 67 projects had begun ‘‘physical works’’ by the end of February 2021.

Seymour said the failure represented poor execution, particularly after the Government put

$3b behind the projects. ‘‘$3b is pretty serious money to take from people,’’ he said.

Robertson said the timeframe for the shovel-ready projects changed last year. ‘‘Well in April last year when we first announced the fact we were going to do this that was the timeframe.

‘‘By the time we actually came to fund them and make announcements we’d moved out to a longer timeframe, then we had Covid-19, that slowed down a number of projects from getting going.’’

He said the new commitment was that the projects would begin within 12 months, but the clock would only start ticking on those

12 months when the projects were contracted, not announced.

The shovel-ready projects have been a challenge for the Government. This week it was revealed the projects would create about 11,000 jobs, just over half the 20,000 jobs the Government promised before the election. In Canterbury, the projects with the most money earmarked from the shovel-ready fund are the Christchurch City Council’s major cycleways ($71.5 million), the YMCA central city development ($43m), and the KiwiRail depots at Waltham ($39m).

Work on the long-term cycleways project is progressing steadily, with four of the routes partially complete, two under construction, and one due to start next year. Four are already fully completed and the final two are still several years away.

The YMCA’s development of a new building is under way on Rolleston Ave in central Christchurch, with completion scheduled for 2022.

Work on the rail maintenance depots in Waltham in Christchurch has also started.

Among the smaller shovel ready projects, the Community Youth Hub (allocated $10m from the shovel-ready fund) is on hold after its central Christchurch neighbours appealed its consent to the Environment Court.

The Redcliffs to Shag Rock section of the Coastal Pathway in Christchurch ($15.8m from the fund) is at the design stage.

The Hurunui District Council lodged a resource consent bid in April to build the downhill zipline on Conical Hill in Hanmer Springs ($2m), which could be finished this year if approved.