NZ Upgrade Programme Queenstown Package: costs, scope and OIA documents

The NZ Upgrade Programme (NZUP) Queenstown Package is the government-funded part of the 2020 Queenstown Business Case. That business case's preferred programme rested on targeted infrastructure (NZUP $90m and Crown Infrastructure Partners $85m), road-based bus rapid transit and travel behaviour change (QTS-050, QTS-062).

NZTA's own documents, mostly released under the Official Information Act, trace how the package's cost and scope changed:

• The budget was approved at $107.6m in 2020 and revised to $115m (QTS-113).
• By April 2022 the advanced estimate was $177.4m (QTS-072). By November 2022 it was $180m–$210m against the $115m allocation (QTS-075).
• In November 2023 the full programme was estimated at about $420m, and a reduced scope at $230m (QTS-082).
• In 2024 Ministers were asked to endorse a reduced package of the SH6/6A intersection, the Frankton bus hub and the Howards Drive roundabout, at an estimated $250m (QTS-091).
• NZTA later stated a reconciled delivery price of $329.97m (excluding several cost categories), with the work consolidated under a $250m budget (QTS-113).

A 2026 release states that no Treasury Gateway review or independent quality assurance of the reduced-scope package exists, and that monetised benefits were not re-evaluated when the scope was reduced (QTS-226).