We wrote to Tauranga City Council about the procurement process for its car park building project.

In 2018, the Council began building a car park building in the city, and in June 2020 it decided to abandon the construction with a partly built car park. At the point the Council decided to abandon the construction, it had spent $19 million on the project. It was estimated that it would cost $9.8 million to demolish the building and restore the site. In the end, the Council will have nothing to show for the money it has spent.

After looking into the project, we found that there were several aspects of the project that did not accord with good procurement or governance practice. This is not what is expected when a local authority, or any public organisation, is spending public money.

Our letter comments on the Council’s procurement in this case and contains important lessons for other public organisations with similar projects.

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