'No clarity' for businesses over the potential disruption of Auckland light rail

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

A 2016 video by Auckland Transport shows the proposed route of light rail line to the airport, later taken over by NZTA.

An Auckland business group has voiced concerns about the potential disruption of the Auckland light rail project.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck said while lessons have been learned from the disruption caused to businesses in the central city by the City Rail Link (CRL), this project will be bigger and the disruption greater.

'Rapid transit is needed to ease congestion and support our rapidly growing city. However, there is no clarity or transparency about the requirements of the light rail project or what the next steps will be after a preferred bidder has been chosen. This uncertainty presents a risk for many local businesses and others who are likely to be severely impacted,' Beck said.

Heart of the City claims Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has instructed the two parties bidding for the project - NZ Infra and the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) - to outline how they will address the impact of construction on local businesses. Twyford plans to approve the successful tender early next year.

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Beck said the organisation still has questions around exactly how disruption will be addressed. She wanted to know what financial provisions will be made for affected businesses and who will ultimately be responsible for the costs throughout the project.

'These are all reasonable questions, given what's at stake for Auckland.

'The bidders for the light rail project have a responsibility to consider these questions and Aucklanders have a right to see convincing answers before it's too late to influence a decision that will shape Auckland for the next century.'

Earlier this month Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney announced major road closures in the city centre as part of the CRL project's next stage, which runs from Albert St to Mt Eden Station.

Goff and Twyford announced plans in October to create a hardship fund for businesses in Albert St affected by the delays in the project. Goff said he expected to be able to release more details on the hardship fund before Christmas. He said the money would come from the contingency fund CRL operates as part of the project.

'But it's still ratepayers' and taxpayers' money, so it's about finding a balance between being fair to people who've suffered from exceptional hardship and not loading too many costs onto ratepayers.'

Twyford said in August that he would make a decision on who would build the Auckland light rail project early next year and signalled that he had shortlisted two potential partners. But construction isn't expected to start until 2021. NZ Infra is a joint venture between the NZ Super Fund and Canada's CDPQ Infra group.