‘Gold-plating’ fear contributed to low-ball Transmission Gully cost

Tue, 20 Apr 2021

Waka Kotahi-New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) officials were afraid the Transmission Gully project would be too expensive when the agency set what turned out to be an unrealistic price tag on building the 27-kilometre highway north of Wellington.A review into the troubled project found a valid case justifying the public-private partnership model, but said that officials set the cost of construction too low, which forced bidders to make low-ball offers, resulting in the $850 million winning bid by the Wellington Gateway Partnership. The o...

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