1 April 2019
George W
[FYI request #9810 email]
REF: OIA-4831
Dear George
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your email of 9 March 2019 requesting the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
I am requesting the route alignment for the light rail projects south and west in Auckland, as
well as what the stations will be.
If this is finalised yet I request the latest working alignment and stops.
In May 2018, the Minister of Transport mandated the NZ Transport Agency to lead the delivery of
the City Centre to Māngere Light Rail (CC2M) on an accelerated basis.
To prepare to deliver CC2M, the Transport Agency immediately established an integrated project
team with Auckland Transport (AT), the Auckland Council, and HLC to appropriately leverage the
knowledge and skill sets of these organisations. The initial focus was to develop an Indicative
Business Case (IBC) by December 2018 in line with the the Transport Agency’s best practice
guidelines to support an accelerated delivery of the project. To meet this timeline, the Transport
Agency and its partners adopted the scheme developed by AT within the Auckland Transport
Alignment Project (ATAP) and constrained development of the scheme to fit with the mandate of
accelerated delivery.
NZ Infra, a joint venture of New Zealand Super Fund (NZSF) and CDPQ Infra, has presented an
unsolicited alternative approach to fund, design, build and operate light rail in Auckland, based on a
public-public investment model. This is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Transport and
Treasury. The light rail project team has been supporting this review.
An IBC is being developed and shared with our project partners, including the Ministry of Transport,
for review and feedback. However, further work is required to progress the IBC to a Detailed
Business Case. Until the Ministry of Transport/Treasury review of the NZ Infra unsolicited proposal is
complete, key decisions arising from the IBC cannot be submitted to the Transport Agency’s Board
for endorsement as it would be inappropriate to consider it in isolation.
To provide certainty as soon as possible, the Government requested the Ministry of Transport and
Treasury provide their advice on alternative funding, delivery and operating models in March 2019.
Market engagement was temporarily deferred during this time. This advice has now been received
by the Ministers and is being considered.
Parts of the IBC will soon be publicly available on the CC2M project website at
www.nzta.govt.nz/CC2M with some redactions made under the Act. Therefore, I am refusing your
request for information regarding the CC2M line under section 18 (d) of the Act as the information
requested will soon be publicly available.
Along with our partners we are progressing work on a corridor to connect the north-western
suburbs. It will provide a critical connection for these suburbs to help them develop in a sustainable
way.
Investigations for the City Centre to North West (CC2NW) line are at a very early stage and further
work needs to be undertaken to develop a business case.
Factors that will be considered as part of a business case assessment include:
• how best to support growth and desired land use outcomes for the North West area
• opportunities and constraints provided by the current State Highway 16 corridor
• integration with and opportunities provided by the wider proposed transport network.
The business case will identify a preferred route and potential stations and stops along the corridor
for further investigation. When this work is complete, the NZ Transport Agency will have a better
understanding of both the timeline for delivery as well as potential changes and impacts from both a
transport and urban development perspective.
I am refusing your request for information relating to the CC2NW line under section 18 (e) as the
document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist.
With respect to the information that has been withheld, I do not consider there are any other
factors which would render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to
withhold some information and to refuse parts of this request. The contact details for the
Ombudsman can be located at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
If you would like to discuss this reply with the NZ Transport Agency, please contact the Auckland
Light Rail team by email on [email address].
Yours sincerely
Stephen Smith
Senior Manager – Auckland Light Rail
