Infrastructure

Round five of Tourism Infrastructrure Fund is now open for applications with five South Island regions hit hardest by the lack of international tourists given priority.

Tourism minister Stuart Nash outlines his vision for tourism once international visitors returns which would include policy and sectoral changes.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will close a main arterial route to Auckland Airport for safety improvements and road widening.

“As a tourism operator, we had no city,” recalls Christchurch Attractions’ Michael Esposito.

CEO Malcolm Johns says the airport operator went on a drive to diversify and outsource to help it cope with crises.

The hub would be a major connection point for buses, as well as providing a rail station for the Waikato to Auckland passenger rail service Te Huia.

The work would see the implementation of Te Ara Wānaka, a shared pathway, for pedestrians and cyclists along Lakeside Road, and a separate boardwalk along the lake’s edge.

Three feasibility studies would contribute to the wider Picton Redevelopment Plan.

The project included a library, community hub/meeting rooms, a village square, open recreation and play spaces, and a potential privately owned and operated pool.

Lyttelton Port’s $67m purpose-built cruise ship berth will officially be opened in about two weeks but port executives are looking at alternative uses until cruising resumes.

Northland’s current infrastructure project pipeline will bring massive benefits to the region, says Employers and Manufacturers Association chief executive Brett O’Riley.

Work will get underway next week on a major project in central Hamilton aimed at making the river more accessible, boosting river tourism and safeguarding essential infrastructure.

The main route into the airport will close over four consecutive nights as work continues on its roading network.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency’s Takitimu North Link project is up for tender for construction. 

Queenstown Lakes District Council, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai and Kāi Tahu will create a new safe viewing area along the Glenorchy-Queenstown road overlooking Lake Wakatipu.

Queenstown Lakes District Council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will enter into an alliance to deliver a number of infrastructure projects in Wakatipu to improve the town centre experience for locals and visitors.

The Government recently announced a $36m project to upgrade and extend the Inia William Tuuta Memorial Airport on the island.

The walking and cycling pathway would stretch from Westhaven to Albany.

New marine infrastructure in northern Te Tairāwhiti on the North Island’s East Coast could help support tourism ventures, says the Government.

Sealing the Pouto road would unlock tourism and business opportunities for Kaipara locals. 

The road is an important tourism route, forming part of the Thermal Explorer Highway linking Rotorua with the Hawkes Bay, Lake Taupo, Ruapehu and Hamilton.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency has picked Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Aurecon, McConnell Dowell and Freyssinet to partner on its Northern Pathway project.

More Kiwis are now choosing to camp and many of them might not know how to do it responsibly, says the minister.

The project would see Kōpū developed as a centre of marine servicing operations across the Hauraki Gulf, and act as a connection for water-based tourism opportunities and a growing aquaculture industry.

The construction of the new Marlborough District Library and Art Gallery in Blenheim will go ahead after approval from the Marlborough District Council.

The $16m restoration of Wellington’s Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is underway thanks to an $8.5m contribution from the Government’s ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure fund.

Tourism projects in the Chatham Islands, Rotorua, and the Far North will share in just over $110m in new funding announced by the Government.

The revamp includes a marine education zone, commercial buildings, and bus terminus.

The rebuild will create and support more than 200 local jobs and unlock massive local economic benefits.

 A new pou-whenua, Uenuku Te Pou Tipua o Tūroa, has been unveiled and completes the new park and ride and camping facility at the foot of Mt Ruapehu. 

Tourism projects across the country last week shared funding totalling around $120m as the government continues its efforts to stimulate regional economies and improve tourism infrastructure across the country.

The funding is part of a wider $220m cycleway package and a $182m investment from the Government into four transport projects around the Auckland region.

Scoping work on a new harbour crossing would also begin if National won power in September, says the party’s new leader.

The Govt is investing the cash in Fiordland’s Homer Tunnel, an Arrowtown museum, and a Balclutha hub.

It marks the beginning of the transformation of the 10-hectare Lakeview site into an extension of the Queenstown CBD.

Queenstown Lakes District Council calling for local feedback on proposed options to improve crossing the Kimiākau Shotover River, complementing the Edith Cavell Bridge.

Northland tourism receives another boost with more money for Whangārei’s Hihiaua Cultural Centre.

KiwiRail has received a further $13m of government funding for improving the resilience of its iconic TranzAlpine tourist train route.

Locals are invited to find out more about planned improvements for the Forgotten World Highway.

TOP 10 Holiday Parks has teamed up with Tourism Holdings-owned Britz motorhomes to open a raft of pop-up motorhome branches across the country.

Phase one of a multi-million-dollar investment in Hamilton’s central city river path has begun.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern and tourism minister Kelvin Davis visited the Queenstown Lakes District on Friday spending the morning at Wayfare’s Cardrona Alpine Resort, near Wanaka, before a tour in the afternoon of its TSS Earnslaw steamer boat in Queenstown.

Preventative work is taking place on the Christchurch Gondola cableway towers ahead of its planned reopening on 1 July.

The $360m Northern Pathway is among 11 projects to be fast-tracked under a new law.

Work to make transport networks around Kaikōura safer and more resilient following the November 2016 earthquake is due to be completed on 15 December.

The first regional transport projects of the $12bn New Zealand Upgrade Programme are underway.

The collapse of tourism has been like “turning the ignition key off” for Queenstown, says the resort’s mayor, Jim Boult.

The third stage of the Wānaka Lakefront Development Plan is underway with a detailed design nearing completion and a number of artist impressions released to the public.

“The tourist hot-spot has been hard hit by the implications of Covid-19, but having a financial boost like this will mean the whole community can soon be even prouder of this great asset.”

Kāpiti Coast Council is considering putting forward a funding application to the Provincial Growth Fund for the Kāpiti Island Gateway Building.