The Interislander Cook Strait ferries are reaching the end of their working life, and two new ferries are being built to replace them. Video / Mark Mitchell
KiwiRail wanted a decision from ministers on its “significantly more costly” mega ferry terminals by July, documents reveal, but the problem remains unresolved and there’s no promise it will be sorted out before the election.
A $551 million contract has already been signed with a South Korean shipyard to buildtwo new mega ferries to replace Interislander’s ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet. They are due to arrive in 2025 and 2026.
But a final design for the landside infrastructure on either side of Cook Strait, including wharves, seawalls and new passenger terminal buildings, is yet to be confirmed.
Treasury has identified the project as a fiscal risk and independent consultants were called in earlier this year amid escalating costs.
A proactively released Ministry of Transport document shows KiwiRail wanted a decision from iRex joint ministers on the situation by the middle of July. iRex is the project name for Interislander’s new ferries.
The document said the cost of the landside infrastructure will be significantly more costly than expected.
Minister for State-owned Enterprises Duncan Webb said ministers were still considering a range of options in relation to all aspects of the Interislander project.
Minister for State-owned Enterprises Duncan Webb. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Webb would not say whether it would be resolved before the upcoming election.
Decisions will be made public once they are made, he said.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was asked about the ferry project on the campaign trail last week.
He said it would “almost certainly end up costing more” and confirmed there were “active conversations” happening.
iReX programme director David Warburton said they requested a decision by July as this provided time for officials to assess the information provided by KiwiRail and support Cabinet in making decisions.
“It also gave KiwiRail time to undertake forward planning with our construction partners ahead of summer, which is a busy time for the construction industry when contractors are in high demand across New Zealand.”
Warburton said early works are under way in Picton and Wellington, although the project’s website says main construction work is scheduled to be under way this year.
“We continue to work with officials and our construction partners to deliver this important project,” he said.
KiwiRail has previously listed significant inflationary escalation in material and labour costs as issues the project is facing, as well as alterations in climate change and seismic specifications and building code revisions.
In June, Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter raised concerns the introduction of the new ferries could be hampered by the failure to deliver the landside infrastructure on time.
Ponter said KiwiRail was “up against it” in terms of time.
“There is no getting away from that and they know it, they must know it.”
He stressed he was not close enough to the project to be privy to the planning under way and hoped KiwiRail was pulling out all the stops, including a back-up plan.
“Because they could leave us all floundering if they don’t have the new facilities in place... I’m sure that KiwiRail will find a solution to these issues, but they are up against it in terms of time.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
