MEDIA RELEASE

Hon John Banks QSO
Mayor of Auckland City

Sir Barry Curtis
Mayor of Manukau City

25 March 2004

Mayors remain committed to Corridor

Suggesting the Eastern Transport Corridor is on hold could not be further from the truth. Rather, the Auckland and Manukau cities await a report from the Steering Group on how best to take the project forward, said Mayors Hon John Banks and Sir Barry Curtis in a joint statement responding to an article in the New Zealand Herald today.

“The Eastern Transport Corridor Steering Group continues to work its way through the Opus recommendations. Decisions on moving the project forward will not be made until Auckland City, Manukau City and Transit NZ have received a recommendation from the Steering Group.

“There are matters of significance that need careful consideration such as whether the route should go across Hobson Bay or in a tunnel adjacent to Shore Road.

“Decisions on funding can only be made by the project parties after the prior decisions are made on the higher level concepts contained in the Opus recommendation.

“The Steering Group must first do its work and give a recommendation to the standing committees which will then chart a way forward. That way forward will include a direction around how funding will be handled and how staging work will proceed as well as timetables for consent processes.

“The Steering Group has requested information on staging. Staging could have a significant impact on cashflow and construction periods. Careful attention will be given to a recommendation about how the project could be staged as a way of minimising risk and moving forward in a practical way.

“It is a case of how we best move this ambitious project forward. We must not put any further delay into the future. There is more political will and a greater public appetite for building the Eastern Transport Corridor than ever before in its 70-year history,” concluded the Mayors.

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