Peacocke pipeline another boost for local economy

Peacocke will one day house 20,000 Hamiltonians. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Just days after Hamilton City Council entered the final procurement stages for a new bridge over the Waikato River, it has announced a further boost to the local and regional economy.

The last stage of the tender process to build a 6km-long strategic wastewater connection starts in early May, linking the city's new growth area of Peacocke to Hamilton's existing strategic network.

The Northern Pipeline project is estimated at around $30M, including design, geotechnical investigations and associated works. The construction tender price will include around 5.5km of twin pressure pipes and around half a kilometre of gravity sewer and manholes.

The Northern Pipeline will provide additional resilience and capacity to Hamilton's wastewater network and enable future housing construction. The complex pipeline project will go under the East Town Belt, Wairere Drive and KiwiRail's eastern main trunk line. Tenders will close in June to enable the successful tenderer to start work in the coming construction season. The project is expected to be completed in the 2021/22 construction season.

The council's chief executive Richard Briggs says the release of the tender is further good news for the city's longer-term economy recovery and the many people employed by the construction sector.

"As with our bridge contract announcement last week, we have been able to get to this stage ahead of schedule and because of the support of our shortlisted tenderers and some great work by staff under difficult conditions," Mr Briggs says.

"There are thousands of people in Hamilton and the wider region who depend on the construction sector for their economic wellbeing. It's not just the workers and management of the contractors, it's the many support industries like fuel companies, raw material suppliers, nurseries for the tens of thousands of new plants, clothing and safety equipment companies and a myriad of others.

"As one of New Zealand's fastest-growing cities our communities have benefited from government investment as we build infrastructure critical to enabling new housing and transport links.

"As our region and city bounces back from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 response, the jobs this work provides will play a key role in improving the wellbeing of our residents."

When complete the new Peacocke neighbourhood will be home to around 20,000 new Hamiltonians.

The Northern Pipeline is part of the city's growth programme which includes the $150M Peacocke bridge and associated works contract, as well as new arterial roads and safety improvements on State Highway 3 which are already under way.

The Peacocke programme is supported by $110M in Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency subsidies and a $180M 10-year interest-free loan from the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund.