How can governments make better long-term decisions about infrastructure? In a new article for Construction Briefing, Professor Jim Hall examines New Zealand's ambitious programme of infrastructure reform and the lessons it offers for the UK and other countries.
As chair of the UK-based Enabling Better Infrastructure (EBI) programme, convened by the Institution of Civil Engineers, Prof Hall has worked with the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission (Te Waihanga) to help develop the country's National Infrastructure Plan. The collaboration has included contributing to quality reviews of the plan, facilitating international knowledge exchange and supporting dialogue on New Zealand's long-term infrastructure needs.
In the article, Prof Hall, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI), and Lead of the Oxford Programme for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems (OPSIS) at the ECI, explains how New Zealand is seeking to improve the way it plans, funds and delivers infrastructure through reforms focused on affordability, maintaining and renewing existing assets, prioritising the right projects and creating more predictable funding arrangements. He argues that successful infrastructure delivery depends not only on sound engineering and investment decisions, but also on stable, long-term political commitment that extends beyond election cycles.
The article also highlights the importance of building cross-party consensus to provide certainty for investors, strengthen confidence in the infrastructure pipeline and support better outcomes for society.
Read the full article in Construction Briefing: What can we learn from New Zealand's remarkable infrastructure turnaround?
Transmission Gully Motorway in Wellington Northern Corridor, New Zealand.