Don Good, executive director of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce, criticized the government because the country lacks projects that can be shoveled immediately in Waikato, while civilian contractors are waiting for the projects to be approved.
The government has not announced most of the earth shovel preparation projects. However, the Waikato City Council recommended 23 projects to the central government in April, totaling US$2.8 billion.
About $150 million is earmarked for Waikato, which includes shovel-ready projects such as the upgrade of Hamilton Gardens and bicycle infrastructure throughout the city.
In a letter to members of the Chamber of Commerce, Goode said that the government is delaying the announcement of these projects and has lost its way in the bureaucracy to extend the Cambridge to Piarrell expansion project to the Waikato Expressway and South Link .
“What is the government doing with the Hamilton City Council, Waipa District Council and all other large’shovel preparation’ projects proposed by the Waikato District Council five months ago?
“Unbelievably, they were just a convenient theological slogan at the time, providing an opportunity for the very expensive Wellington bureaucrats to produce doorstop reports, which are now collecting dust on the shelves of government agencies.”
“We understand the sacrifices required to accommodate Covid-19. We are part of a team of 5 million and we made sacrifices. But five months to develop a plan to help the economy recover is too long.
“The way to prepare the shovel is simple. We are locked in, and our leaders need to invest in projects that provide multi-generational infrastructure, which brings jobs to many people.
“This will give people certainty. The money will push cash into the economy, and the cash in hand will provide people with security. With certainty and security, you can give people confidence.
“We are happy to be proven wrong. We are happy to hear an important announcement tomorrow that funds for some large projects have been approved. Companies want to work.”
“The Waikato region has been calling for confidence in the future so we can fall behind in 2020. We now ask our leaders to lead: Don’t let us down.”
Although Good’s prospects are grim, the results of the 2020 construction industry survey show that with the “Building Agreement”, the Sanshui Reform and the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission have begun to have a stabilizing effect on the work pipeline, and the industry sees a bright future.
Flexible civilian contractors are taking a series of measures to cope with their short-term challenges in cash flow, uncertainty in work processes, and cancelled/extended contracts.
As local and central governments account for 75% of construction industry customers, contractors expect the government’s recent New Zealand upgrade plan to have a positive impact, 69% of whom expect a positive impact within three years, and ready infrastructure announcements will have Helps balance the reduction in local government spending due to Covid-19’s impact on the budget.
Peter Silcock, Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Civil Construction Contractors, said: “Despite the difficult economic situation, many contractors are confident in their resilience and hope to retain and maintain their Employ employees under certain circumstances.”
“Contractors will need to take steps to ensure that their business can withstand the short-term reduction in workload in the next few months, ahead of the projects planned for the next five years.”