Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is offering advance payments to roading contractors so the industry will be ready to hit the ground running to deliver vital projects and help get New Zealand moving when the country moves out of the current Level 4 COVID-19 Alert lock down.
Waka Kotahi appreciates the construction industry’s swift and well delivered shut down of all Capital Projects and non-essential work and understands the significant impact on our supply partners, their employees, labour hire staff and site-based subcontractors who were committed and in full swing delivering our important projects.
Equally we know that any significant and prolonged disruption to industry will inhibit the ability to deliver future infrastructure for New Zealand and provide economic stimulus across the supply chain.
In the current climate, the infrastructure pipeline for New Zealand is more critical than ever.
Not only does New Zealand require this infrastructure, its construction will now play a key role in New Zealand’s economic recovery.
The Advanced Entitlement Payment (or AEP) will be available to contractors who currently have National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) funded projects in construction with Waka Kotahi.
For now, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are excluded from the AEP as there is further work to do on these because of their unique contracts.
Waka Kotahi is continuing to progress projects in planning and design – so these are ready for when physical construction can resume.
The following conditions are associated with the AEP and any contractors agreeing to it will be expected to:
In the process of evaluating future claims relating to COVID-19, payments made under this AEP will be taken into consideration. Waka Kotahi has full set off rights for recovery of the AEP.
It is intended for this AEP to be offered in good faith and any failure to comply will be seen as a breach of good faith and will be taken into account in the award of future projects.
Professional services are not covered by this AEP. Where capital projects engage professional services and these activities can continue under Level 4 COVID-19 conditions, these can continue to progress under existing contractual conditions.
Where not, these non-essential activities should have stopped and Waka Kotahi expects for these roles to be redeployed within home organisations.
Other impacted parties, for example material suppliers, are also not covered by the AEP. However, it is expected Contractors will treat those in their supply chain with regard and make efforts to minimise the stand down impact to them and their liquidity.
Waka Kotahi is taking its direction from the Government who has specified Level 4 for the next four weeks. ‘Non-essential’ projects will remain shut down for this period and therefore this package is to cover this specific period.
Waka Kotahi is now working to form a position based on the different scenarios which may play out beyond the current four-week stand down period.
