50 Victoria Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T
64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
6 May 2019
Mark Thorburn
[FYI request #10004 email]
REF: OIA-4952
Dear Mark
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email of 4 April 2019 requesting the following information regarding the Northern
Gateway Toll Road (NGTR):
‘I understand that the tol road wil cease to be a tol road once the debt incurred to construct
it has been paid off. I have read where this is expected to be 2045.
I also note that the prices have recently gone up for the Tol Road.
Could you please provide financial details of the Northern Tol Road that shows the current
revenue, including details of the projected and current traffic volumes behind that revenue,
the operating costs, and the debt stil to be paid off.’
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
To advance the project and pay for the $375.7 million construction costs of the NGTR, National Land
Transport Fund (NLTF) funding was supplemented by use of a $158 million debt facility from the
Crown.
The toll revenue collected is for the repayment of the debt and related interest costs, as well as for
operating costs of the tolling systems. It does not fund the ongoing maintenance and operational costs
of the road itself, which are funded from the NLTF under the State Highways Maintenance activity class.
The tolls on the NGTR increase every three years to keep pace with inflation. The increase this time
covers the changes in the consumer price index (CPI) since the last increase three years ago.
As of 31 March 2019, $81.7 million in interest payments have been made. The outstanding balance
owing on the road is $216.6 million (which is the original $158 million plus accrued interest). The NZ
Transport Agency expects the loan and accrued interest to be paid off by 2045 based on on-going CPI
increases and our modelling of NGTR usage. If the volume of traffic is higher than expected, the
quicker the debt will be repaid.
Below are the historical toll revenues and toll operating revenues with the corresponding number of
paid chargeable trips:
Paid Chargeable Trips
Tol Revenue ($'000)
Tol Operating Revenue
($'000)
Financial Year
(Revenue-generating
(Amount designated to
(Amount retained by the
trips)
repay the debt and
NZTA to operate tol
related interest)
business)
2008/09
1,897,015 $ 2,312 $ 1,180
2009/10
4,780,657 $ 6,060 $ 3,085
2010/11
4,979,112 $ 6,150 $ 3,216
2011/12
5,073,059 $ 6,415 $ 3,371
2012/13
5,279,422 $ 7,115 $ 3,664
2013/14
5,632,643 $ 7,648 $ 3,928
2014/15
5,943,516 $ 8,056 $ 4,135
2015/16
6,448,100 $ 9,108 $ 4,482
2016/17
6,851,652 $ 10,030 $ 4,804
2017/18
7,146,877 $ 10,541 $ 5,025
2018/19 (up to 31 Mar) 5,730,309 $ 8,220 $ 3,897
Total
59,762,362 $ 81,655 $ 40,787
Below are the projected toll revenues and toll operating revenues with the corresponding number of
paid chargeable trips:
Paid Chargeable Trips
Tol Revenue ($'000)
Tol Operating Revenue
($'000)
Financial Year
(Revenue-generating
(Amount designated to
(Amount retained by the
trips)
repay the debt and
NZTA to operate tol
interest)
business)
2019/20
7,879,432 $ 11,830 $ 5,910
2020/21
8,273,403 $ 12,421 $ 6,205
2021/22
8,526,594 $ 12,460 $ 6,736
2022/23
8,779,784 $ 12,830 $ 6,936
2023/24
9,032,974 $ 13,200 $ 7,136
2024/25
9,286,164 $ 15,715 $ 7,800
2025/26
9,539,354 $ 16,143 $ 8,013
2026/27
9,792,544 $ 16,571 $ 8,226
2027/28
10,045,734 $ 16,498 $ 8,941
2028/29
10,298,924 $ 16,913 $ 9,166
2029/30
10,552,115 $ 17,329 $ 9,391
2030/31
10,805,305 $ 20,299 $ 10,157
2031/32
11,058,495 $ 20,775 $ 10,395
2032/33
11,311,685 $ 21,250 $ 10,633
2033/34
11,564,875 $ 21,032 $ 11,565
2034/35
11,818,065 $ 21,493 $ 11,818
2035/36
12,071,255 $ 21,953 $ 12,071
2036/37
12,324,446 $ 26,322 $ 13,064
2037/38
12,577,636 $ 26,863 $ 13,332
2038/39
12,830,826 $ 27,404 $ 13,601
2039/40
13,084,016 $ 27,159 $ 14,654
2040/41
13,337,206 $ 27,685 $ 14,938
2041/42
13,590,396 $ 28,210 $ 15,221
2042/43
13,843,586 $ 32,946 $ 16,474
2043/44
14,096,776 $ 33,549 $ 16,775
Total
276,321,590 $ 518,850 $ 269,158
Please note that as with any projections, the figures are based on assumptions held at a certain point
in time. Some of the general assumptions include:
•
traffic volume increased by 5% up to 2020/21 then applied the percentage increases
assumed in the business case for the outyears (Traffic Model run by our consultant BECA)
•
toll tariff increased by the consumer price index (CPI) every 3 years (CPI projections from
the Treasury
•
transaction charge (toll operating revenue) increased by CPI every 3 years
•
debt interest rate at 6.45%.
If you would like to discuss this reply with the NZ Transport Agency, please contact me by email;
[email address], or by phone on 04 894 6192.
Yours sincerely
John Coulter
Senior Manager, Operational Policy, Planning and Performance, Investment and Finance
