The Premium Debate: Subscriber views on Waka Kotahi's billion-dollar blowout

Construction of the B2B (Baypark to Bayfair) Project is progressing closer to its 2023 completion date, with work on a flyover at Bayfair under way. Photo / Mead Norton

OPINION

The cost of major Bay of Plenty state highway projects has almost doubled - going from $632 million to $1.2 billion - because of shortages in materials, the impact of Covid-19, and other delays. Only one of the eight projects, costing $10m or more, remains on budget and on time.

Have your say by going to bayofplentytimes.co.nz or dailypost.co.nz and becoming a Premium subscriber.

Closing Marsden Point and stopping NZ from making its own bitumen and now [being] completely reliant on importing it hasn't helped at all. You really get the feeling this government is doing its best to destroy our economy.
- Mark R

Still spending money on useless publicity on their Road to Zero and the speed changes. Maybe it's better directed here? Or maybe they will shut down another Northland project and leave it half-finished to pay for this one and still reduce all our speed limits. Just do your job and build safer roads ...
- Patricia W

Yet another failure.
- Patrick F

The third sentence says it all "Figures provided through the Official Information Act revealed ..." Where's the openness? Where's the transparency? Shouldn't need to go through the OIA to get this information.
- Gordon G

Hand-on-heart moment - is anyone surprised by this?
- Gaut S

And so the money continues by the bucketloads to be thrown off the harbour bridge by the Ardern Government 24/7. Unbelievable and unforgivable.
- Mark C

Cut the pointless TV advertising and the consultancy bills to save money, I'm not even going to send an invoice for the advice. That's my good deed done for the day.
- Kevin C

Why do we seem to have the slowest, most expensive and poorest-quality highways construction in the world? Do we need to import international highway builders to achieve what we appear to be unable to accomplish here? Surely it's not all the RMA and compliance, with every new woke environmental and "safety" idea dreamt up by the bureaucracy.
- Mark W

I'm sure it is all the fault of the previous National government and their nine years of neglect. I note that most projects started before the Labour government came to power because obviously, nothing would have been started at all under this lot.
- Kim C

Waka Kotahi is incompetent in every single way imaginable. An urgent inquiry into the organisation is needed before they do any more damage to road users.
- Andrew M

New Zealand is nowhere near the same league as other First World countries and we seem to be getting worse, and even going backwards.
- Steve J

I wonder if the scope changes go through all the same approvals as the original project or if this is an underhand way to underbid on a project and then overpriced scope changes to get the money it was always going to cost.
- Tony S

The Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times welcome letters from readers. Please note the following:

- Republished comments may be edited at the editor's discretion.

• Letters should not exceed 200 words.

• They should be opinions, based on facts or current events.

• If possible, please email.

• No noms-de-plume.

• Letters will be published with names and suburb/city.

• Please include full name, address and contact details for our records only.

• Local letter writers are given preference.

• Rejected letters are not normally acknowledged.

• Letters may be edited, abridged, or rejected at the Editor's discretion.

• The Editor's decision on publication is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Email editor@dailypost.co.nz or bayofplentytimes.co.nz