34425 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Transport

34425 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Transport: What advice, if any, did the Treasury and the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission provide on the value-for-money case for procuring Warkworth to Te Hana as a public-private partnership, and did either raise concerns?

Hon Chris Bishop: NZTA worked closely with the Ministry of Transport (now the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT)), the Treasury, Infrastructure Commission and NZ Infrastructure Funding and Financing Company Limited (NIFFCo) throughout the course of the project on all aspects of the PPP procurement, including the value-for-money case. This included the development of the June 2026 Cabinet paper and associated Ministerial advice that sought approval for the project to continue to financial close in July 2026. This Cabinet paper included the Public Sector Comparator test that is used to confirm the value-for-money case for PPP procurement under the Treasury PPP Guidance.