Building roads? Buy Kiwi-Made

01 November 2006

Building roads? Buy Kiwi-Made

Plans to open up the tender for the Transmission Gully motorway project to overseas construction companies is counter productive to the New Zealand economy, according to the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation (NZCF).

Richard Michael, Chief Executive of the NZCF, says that looking overseas for contractors had more longer term risks, including affecting the financial wellbeing of the New Zealand contracting industry, and the negative impact of profits disappearing to overseas companies.

“The attitude of Porirua Mayor Jenny Brash, who is considering squeezing the local construction industry, is very counter productive and is not going to deliver long-term results for New Zealand. Surely getting in overseas companies runs completely against her own commitment to ensuring that we have knowledge and skills in our local economy.

“The local contracting industry has the resources, experience and skill to complete a project of this scale at a competitive price, and on time.

“Where there is the choice of buying “Kiwi Made” or going offshore – when all the inputs are the same - surely funders should be choosing to buy locally?”

Mr Michael says that many local firms have made strenuous efforts to invest in plant and personnel in anticipation of big future infrastructure projects, and that effective planning is the key to success on large projects.

“We have been calling on the Government to get real about funding for roading projects for many years, and to give the industry time to plan for large-scale projects like Transmission Gully.”

“It makes little economic sense to tender Transmission Gully offshore when local firms have invested carefully as part of their future planning,” Mr Michael says.

ENDS

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