The project will be delivered as New Zealand鈥檚 second public-private partnership (PPP) for a state highway, after the Transmission Gully motorway project in Wellington.
The 鈥榥et present鈥� contract price for delivering the motorway through the PPP is NZ$709.5m (拢417.4m).
Under the PPP contract, the Northern Express Group will finance, design, construct, manage and maintain the P奴hoi to Warkworth motorway for the 25 years that will follow the expected five year period to build the motorway. Full ownership of the highway will remain with the public sector. The aim is to have the P奴hoi to Warkworth motorway open for traffic by 2022.
The equity partners of Northern Express Group are Accident Compensation Corporation, Public Infrastructure Partners (managed by Morrison & Co PIP), Acciona Concesiones and Fletcher Building.
NZ Transport Agency chief executive Fergus Gammie said the signing of the PPP contract between the Transport Agency and the Northern Express Group for the 18.5km motorway marks a major milestone for Auckland and Northland. 鈥淪tate Highway 1 between P奴hoi and Warkworth is a key transport link connecting Northland to the upper North Island freight triangle of Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he P奴hoi to Warkworth motorway forms the first section of the Government鈥檚 P奴hoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance, aimed at enabling economic growth by providing a safer and more reliable transport link for the region.鈥�
The new motorway will extend the Northern Motorway (SH1) from the Johnstone's Hill tunnels just south of P奴hoi to a point north of Warkworth.
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