Nick Leggett, CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand, speaks with Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW about the Government's $6 billion infrastructure announcement.
New Zealand’s infrastructure pipeline has grown by more than $30 billion over the past quarter, with more than 9200 projects now either planned or under way.
The Government is crowing about the increase, saying it is “great news for the construction sector and the wider economy”. It follows concernsfrom the industry about future workload and activity currently being at a six-year low.
“The pipeline now contains over 9200 projects that are under way or being planned, helping New Zealand’s infrastructure construction sector plan ahead for major upcoming projects and hire and retain key staff in the right locations,” said Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop.
The total value of projects in the pipeline as of the June update is now $237.1b, which is up $30.2b from the March quarter. More than 2500 initiatives, about $53b in expected cost, are reported as being under construction.
In the pipeline, there’s about $125b of initiatives under way or planned that are reported as being funded, part-funded or with a funding source confirmed. That’s increased $13.5b over the past quarter.
A substantial part of that increase comes from maintenance activity for the country’s state highway network for 2024-2034 being added to the pipeline, along with Christchurch Men’s Prison and Hawke’s Bay prison redevelopment initiatives.
The Government is crowing about the increase in the pipeline value. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Bishop said projections showed there is at least $17.5b in projected potential spend across 2025, which is about 4% of GDP.
“The commission continues to work with infrastructure providers to improve the transparency and quality of information that is available,” Bishop said.
“A more complete pipeline improves the effectiveness and value that we can gain from this tool. I recently wrote to all councils reminding them of the importance of contributing and updating their pipeline data, and I expect the same engagement from our central government agencies too.”
He said it was encouraging the number of infrastructure providers contributing to the pipeline has grown every quarter since the Government was formed, with 121 organisations now contributing.
“The commission is currently collecting data for the September quarter. This will inform the final version of the National Infrastructure Plan, which will be delivered in December.
“I encourage the remaining councils and any infrastructure provider who is not yet contributing to reach out to the commission, because a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects means a growing economy with more jobs and more opportunities for Kiwis.”
The latest pipeline update comes after several reports highlighted issues with the construction industry. One found activity was at the lowest level since 2019, with 16,000 fewer jobs in the sector compared with June 2023.
A survey commissioned by accountants and business adviser BDO in June found 59% of construction businesses don’t have more than a year’s forward workloads.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.
