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The new interrislander ferries that are being delivered in 2029 will be about 200m long, 28m wide and will have rail decks, says Rail Minister Winston Peters.
He says that the Picton Marine Infrastructure requires replacement, so it will be replaced, while Wellington’s infrastructure “has the remaining life” and will be modified and reused.
A timeline shows that a shipyard will be selected for construction, with the government to sign contracts by the end of the year.
Multipartisan infrastructure works will also have the scope cost and will start by the end of the year.
Ferry Holdings, the company of Annex 4 the government created, is assuming full responsibility of the Treasury in April, with critical consultants to be hired.
This would obtain governance structures – including co -finance – in force with the two ports and kiwirail, before the third quarter of the year.
Peters said the government’s solution would be “markedly cheaper” than the previous government’s Irex project “due to a minimum viable and maximum reuse approach to port infrastructure.”
“We said yes to accessibility and not extravagance,” said Peters.
“Project leaders approached this task as if they were pricing their work, not delivering. They did it because the previous government gave them every reason to believe that they would get what they want.
“The only method for interrupting behavior like this is to do exactly as the finance minister [Nicola Willis] In December 2023. Today we justified the decision of the Minister of Finance to interrupt the old project. “
He said the ships would come into service at Christmas 2029.
“They will take you, your family, the caravan, the dog and everything else, through the narrow, which is what the New Zealands want to happen.
“Design specifications chosen include vessel lengths of approximately 200 meters – longer and wider than the current fleet that can serve our people and goods in the future, but shorter than the large ferries commissioned in 2021, which created significant infrastructure problems.”
Peters said the government did not accept the board of the previous ministerial group to buy two rafts only for the road, as this would be cheaper in general and hire a shipyard to make a deal.
“We believe in competitive proposals and a total appreciation of what best fits our country. Balses only the road have come out as more expensive than buying railways and railways. The safest way to maintain low infrastructure costs is to use what you already have.
“Road only would require us to reconfigure the entire operation at considerable costs. Road and rail ferries mean that we will divert large shipping volumes in unique movements, this saves time and time saves money.”
He said the ferries would have a full life of 30 years, and the increase in ships size compared to the current fleet would provide the ability to meet the current and future demand.
He said the approach adopted for port infrastructure was the most economical “and contrasts sharply with arbitrary demolition and extravagant specification under the canceled project, where they assumed that almost all costs would be to taxpayer expenses.”
Exact cost estimates for IREX vary depending on the schedules and who you ask. The total project costs at the time the ship contract were signed were about $ 1.45 billion and, when it was canceled it increased to just under $ 3 billion – part of that cost borne by Kiwirail and ports.
Since December, Willis and Peters have pointed to employee advice costs can increase further, perhaps up to $ 4 billion.
The new ferries would be highly maneuverable, designed to operate with 20 knots, capable of operating through the conservative channel, and designed with “modern system redundances and future test solutions to reduce carbon emissions.”
The new Picton pier would have a double -level linkspan and double clues, making calls and unloading faster than today.
Road and rail mast shipments would be modified, but not completely renewed as under Irex, and road connections would be improved under discussion with the advice.
Terminal buildings, however, would remain “as they are today,” said Peters. He noted that the main experience that people had to board the ships was not the terminal building, but driving to the ship with their own vehicle.
“While some may regret the absence of a Picton Taj Mahal and a Sydney opera house in Wellington, the people who pay their taxes will not.
“The time will come when new terminal buildings will be needed and the spaces allocated when the doors are ready, but they are not necessary now and not certainly at your expense now.”
He also maintained the possibility of buying a third ship in the future, saying “anything possible.”
Peters was named Rail’s new minister in December, promising a cheaper solution with ships to be in operation until 2029, when the current aging fleet is ready for retirement.
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