Machinery is humming on an increasing number of worksites across the region, multi-million-dollar contracts are being awarded to local companies, and communities are starting to see visible progress as Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s (HBRC) flood resilience programme gathers pace.

The ambitious flood resilience programme is tracking well as projects move from planning to construction delivery. HBRC’s programme is part of the Government’s ~$1.7 billion North Island Weather Event (NIWE) initiative, which includes $212 million for HBRC to build more resilient flood mitigation following the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The NIWE programme in Hawke’s Bay includes construction of new flood infrastructure in Wairoa, Whirinaki, Waiohiki, Pākōwhai, Ōhiti Road, Pōrangahau, and Havelock North; stopbank upgrade projects in Waipawa, Ōmāhu Upper and Lower, and Brookfields Lower; 2 major pump station upgrades; and region-wide telemetry improvements - all co-funded by Central Government (75%) and HBRC (25%) with the exception of Wairoa, whose $70 million funding allocation is 100 percent Crown funded.

Visible progress in Waiohiki and Whirinaki

Construction of the new one-kilometre long Waiohiki stopbank is in full swing, with completion scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

In Whirinaki, work is ahead of schedule on the road raise, with Fulton Hogan completing the sealed State Highway 2 bypass road, which will be operational in early January 2026.

Construction will then start on raising a 440-metre section of SH2 to tie into the new residential and industrial stopbanks being built. A second bypass on North Shore Road will break ground in early January.

HBRC Chair Sophie Siers says the progress being seen across the region shows the NIWE programme is delivering on its promise.

“Our communities asked for action, and we are delivering. We’re proud to be partnering with local contractors and mana whenua and keeping these projects moving at pace. We’re also committed to taking care of our communities during the construction phase as we acknowledge it can be disruptive.”

Milestones reached

While some projects have broken ground, others are in their final consenting and procurement stages. Order in Council consents, where required, have now almost all been lodged for various NIWE projects, except for Wairoa, which will be submitted late in December. Construction at Ōhiti Road on a new stopbank has begun with material stock piling, with CHB Earthmovers appointed as the main contractor and Fulton Hogan subcontracted to deliver essential road-raising works. In Wairoa, the updated design includes a narrower spillway exit point, with construction anticipated to begin in late summer 2026.

Procurement is powering ahead, with tenders for both the Pōrangahau project and the first tranche of the Pākōwhai stopbank construction under assessment, and the second Pākōwhai tranche tender currently in market. A design and build contract for the pump station upgrades at Pākōwhai and Awatoto (often called ‘Mission’), has been awarded to specialist ground engineering and civil construction company, Brian Perry Civil.

The NIWE stopbank upgrade projects in Waipawa, Ōmāhu, and Brookfields that will see existing stopbanks brought up to the new regional standard are in final design with one tender in market in December and all others in late January.

“We are gaining increasing traction across the NIWE construction projects and also making excellent progress with our telemetry upgrade programme,” adds Chair Siers. “This work is critical for rainfall and water-level monitoring to further strengthen Hawke’s Bay’s flood resilience network, and we expect it to be completed by late 2026.

“HBRC is delivering a programme worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars and to see momentum building in this long-term investment in Hawke’s Bay’s safety and resilience is hugely encouraging.”

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