06/04/2018

Lobbying to attract funding for East Cape Road

Council will continue to lobby to seal the entire East Cape Road and pursue funding through the provincial growth fund.

Yesterday the council approved a recommendation to include sealing the full length of the East Cape Road as a short-term initiative in the Integrated Transport Priority Plan (ITPP), subject to funding.

Mayor Meng Foon has been actively lobbying the project to support growing tourism in the area.

He said it was one of the busiest roads on the East Coast but was in a bad state. The fund provided a rare opportunity to get it fully sealed.

“There is a billion available each year, this is a one-off in the lifetime of politics so let’s take advantage of it. I’m lobbying hard and fighting for our share for Tairawhiti.”

Sealing a 1.6 kilometre section of the road, at a cost of around $1.6 million, had previously been included in the ITPP.

The ITPP is to develop the case for investment in transport solutions that will support regional economic growth by connecting people and markets through improving roads.

The draft has been the basis of roading related applications to the primary growth fund.

Sealing 10.3 kilometres on the East Cape Road to the lighthouse will cost more than $15 million.

ENDS

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