Investment and Delivery Committee Paper: Queenstown Transport Programme Procurement

Context and purpose: This Investment and Delivery Committee paper (dated 9 September 2020; meeting 17 September 2020; final version) asks the Committee to recommend that the Waka Kotahi Board approve the Queenstown Transport Programme Procurement Strategy and Plan, using a Pure Alliance procured jointly with QLDC (p1). ELT sponsors are Brett Gliddon and Matthew Walker; it was prepared by Kesh Keshaboina and legally reviewed by Lucy Riddiford (p1).

Programme: The Programme comprises the Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) funded Queenstown Town Centre Street Upgrades and Arterials Stage 1 (balance funded by QLDC), NZUP-funded public transport and walking and cycling upgrades on SH6 and SH6A, and Wakatipu Active Travel Network Stage 1 funded through the NLTP, to be delivered over four years (p2). Its scale is put at circa $230M (p1). Attachment 1 (p7, image) gives indicative caps: Town Centre Street Upgrades ($60M, CIP cap $35M), Arterials Stage 1 ($65M, CIP cap $50M; PT hub potential inclusion unfunded $27M), Active Travel Stage 1 ($16M) and Stage 2 ($23M funding application), and NZUP ($90M, NZUP cap $90M, completion 2024, then in business case phase).

Options: Traditional, panel (QLDC three waters panel) and collaborative (Alliance) models were ranked, with the Alliance first (p3). Competitive, hybrid and pure alliances were then compared; competitive and hybrid were judged to lack time given CIP and NZUP deadlines, so a Pure Alliance was preferred (p4). Expected efficiencies include single programme governance, consistent design and construction, coordinated resources, early works packages and a more attractive market proposition (p4). The Alliance scope would cover design and construction; business case, property and consenting would sit outside it (p4).

Market: The local horizontal infrastructure market was mainly projects under $10m; QLDC's three waters programme runs at about $70m a year; NZUP contains $6.8Bn of transport projects ($5.4Bn roading) (p5). Risks are the accelerated procurement timeframe, client partner alignment and commercial complexity with multiple funding sources (pp5-6). Individual Target Outturn Costs (TOCs) are recommended for each project, and further projects may be allocated on a 'yours to lose' basis (p6).

Mass rapid transit: The paper says nothing about mass rapid transit. It mentions a future Public Transport Interchange as a possible Alliance project (p6).