National Infrastructure Plan

Page updated 5 Nov 2012

The 2011 National Infrastructure Plan was released on 4 July 2011 by the Minister for Infrastructure, Hon Bill English, and the Associate Minister for Infrastructure, Hon Steven Joyce.

The Plan is designed to reduce uncertainty for businesses by outlining the Government's intentions for infrastructure development over a 20-year timeframe. The Plan is directional rather than directive, that is, it provides a framework for infrastructure development rather than a detailed list of projects.

The Plan sets out a vision that, by 2030, New Zealand's infrastructure is resilient, co-ordinated and contributes to economic growth and increased quality of life. Its overall message is that New Zealand's infrastructure is performing well, but there are areas where improved performance would accelerate economic performance. The Plan sets out six guiding principles to respond to these infrastructure challenges. It also outlines infrastructure issues in five key sectors (transport, telecommunications, energy, water and social infrastructure). It finishes with a programme of action to drive change in advance of the next edition, to be published in 2014.

Implementing the National Infrastructure Plan

Since the release of the Plan in July 2011, the National Infrastructure Unit (NIU) has been implementing a long-term work programme that sequences and prioritises delivery of the eight specific actions contained in the Plan, along with achieving the goals for each sector and overall Plan outcomes.  Underpinning the implementation is a focus on ensuring that by the time the next edition of the Plan is due, the range and quality of information about the infrastructure network is better advanced to strengthen future infrastructure planning and investment decisions, and that it demonstrates increased collaboration between Central Government, Local Government and the private sector.

12 months on from the release of the Plan, the NIU has released a progress report summarising developments over the past year and identifying the key areas for focus for the next while.  Infrastructure 2012: National State of Infrastructure Report also includes an overview from the National Infrastructure Advisory Board and a series of think-pieces from the Board to promote discussion on topical issues and challenges.  For more information see Infrastructure 2012: National State of Infrastructure Report.

More information on the Implementation Plan, resources and working documents for feedback and comment are available at Implementation of the 2011 Plan.

Developing the National Infrastructure Plan

As part of work towards the National Infrastructure Plan, the National Infrastructure Unit held workshops across New Zealand. These sought input on infrastructure challenges and opportunities from the perspective of people and organisations with responsibility for substantial infrastructure assets.  Notes from the workshops are available at Development of the 2011 Plan.

Documents

Some of the documents listed here are available in Adobe PDF format only. HTML versions can be supplied on request by Information Services at the Treasury. Using PDF Files