Eastern corridor option bang on. Let's get to it!

Tuesday, 9 March 2004, 3:41 pm
Press Release: Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern

The preferred route recommended by Opus for developing the $3 billion Eastern Transport Corridor is an excellent choice, the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says.

"Business will swing in behind the earliest possible start to work on it," said Alasdair Thompson. EMA's chief executive.

"A start work tomorrow would be fine.

"The longer we delay the more it will cost.

"$3 billion is not much compared to the better education, health and welfare the project will facilitate as economic growth expands in the eastern area.

"It's not much compared to the $1 billion plus Aucklanders pay every year in delays and fuel losses caused by today's traffic congestion.

"Auckland is 10 years behind other comparable cities - Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide - in harnessing private sector funding for transport developments.

So we applaud the imaginative funding proposals being aired by Mayors John Banks and Sir Barry Curtis.

"Business will support network-wide tolling and congestion charging if the funds collected are committed solely to developing our transport infrastructure."

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