$150m Ōmokoroa Interchange funding application moves to next round
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s $150 million application for the State Highway 2 / Ōmokoroa Intersection has made the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund shortlist.
Kāinga Ora announced today Council as one of the successful applicants to move to the second stage of its Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) process.
Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says this is a positive step forward with Kāinga Ora identifying the necessity of the intersection to support new housing supply in Ōmokoroa.
“We are delighted to have made it to the next round but know there are no guarantees given the history of this infrastructure project. We now have plenty of work to do to produce a compelling case the panel can’t say no to.
“This is a critical project not only for the District but the western Bay of Plenty sub-region. Ōmokoroa is a priority growth area. We are committed to seeing this piece of infrastructure come to fruition so we can help develop connected centres across the sub-region.”
Council in August submitted an Expression of Interest for the IAF and followed with an application, backed by SmartGrowth, for the $150 million for the State Highway 2 / Ōmokoroa Intersection. This is in response to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency being unable to fund the project after the Government’s decision to halt most of the funding for the project earlier this year.
The intersection was approved to be funded along with four-laning State Highway 2 from Te Puna to Ōmokoroa, the second stage of the Takitimu North Link, through the New Zealand Upgrade Programme. Unfortunately, that funding was withdrawn at short notice.
Furthermore, both projects, stage two of the Takitimu North Link and the State Highway 2 Ōmokoroa Road Interchange were not included in the Regional Transport Plan.
Council will now submit a full proposal in response to a Request For Proposal.
Kāinga Ora received over 200 proposals, which in total sought funding of more than $5 billion for a $1 billion fund.
