Huge Increase In Ngawha Prison Costs

New Zealand First MP Jim Peters is concerned about the escalating cost of the Ngawha Prison project.

Mr Richard Morris, Chief Financial Officer of the Corrections Department announced yesterday to the Law & Order Select Committee that his department had underestimated the cost of the Ngawha Prison and that the unexpected cost ran “several million dollars” above budget.

The increase of the Ngawha Prison project funding has now exceeded the original $88,000,00 to $105,000,000, with a final figure still to be announced. This makes a mockery of the original planning and consent applications by the Ministry of Corrections, said Mr Peters.

“Did the Ministry deliberately understate the true cost of the prison at the hearings conducted by the Far North District Council and the Northland Regional Council, or did the ministry proceed without care?

“Tax payers deserve much better than this cavalier spending of their taxes,” said Mr Peters.

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