Civil contractors:
infrastructure investment
will benefit everyday Kiwis
New Zealand’s national association
for civil contractors has welcomed
increased investment in infrastructure
announced in today’s budget, and the
opportunity for the civil construction
industry to create jobs and take a
lead role in New Zealand’s economic
recovery.
Civil Contractors New Zealand
chief executive Peter Silcock says
the announcements were a win for
everyday Kiwis as well as contractors
because they would enable the country
to upgrade and improve community
infrastructure such as roads and water
networks.
Mr Silcock says the increased
investment was a great opportunity,
not just to build new roading and water
networks, but also to catch up on the
country’s deferred maintenance and
upgrade existing infrastructure to be fit
for purpose in the present day.
“Upgrading New Zealand’s
infrastructure will serve the country well
in the long term. It will also enable the
civil construction industry to provide
meaningful employment for those
who may have lost their jobs, as well
as retaining the skills in our current
workforce.”
He says helping people upskill would
require close attention to enable people
to transition smoothly. While skills such
as abseiling or heavy vehicle driving
would be transferable, considerable retraining
would be needed for some, and
industry welcomed opportunities to
work closely with government and the
broader training and education sector,
especially around developing new
pathways to civil apprenticeships.
He says to be truly effective, this
investment would also need to reach
the regions and the many small to
medium employers in the industry, who
worked on vital regional works as well as
being employed as subcontractors on
big-ticket projects.
“While it’s important to give the
economy a boost, this needs to be
sustainable. The last thing we want
to do is create a boom/bust situation.
To create sustainable employment
and better community outcomes,
investment needs to be well-planned
and phased over time.”
Mr Silcock says the NZ Infrastructure
Commission was established to help
take a planned approach and manage
the infrastructure work pipeline, and
dialog between government and
industry had been vastly improved since
the creation of the Construction Sector
Accord.
It was also important to consider
project outcomes in planning. This
meant improved maintenance and
environmental outcomes, such as
upgrading regional water infrastructure
to address water quality issues – issues
contractors were well equipped to
deliver on through new technology and
specialist knowledge on techniques
such as erosion control.
“Infrastructure investment is not just
about building roads. It’s about building
better public infrastructure for liveable
communities. It’s about improving water
and wastewater networks to make sure
rivers and lakes aren’t polluted, and
about making our roads safer.”
One issue that could be problematic
following COVID-19 was the availability
of specialist civil construction experts
like geotechnical engineers or project
managers. In the past a high proportion
of these people were recruited from
offshore on a permanent, semi-
permanent or fly in fly out basis, he said.
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Sean O’Sullivan B Com (Hons) Otago University
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sean@manufacturingandengineering.co.nz
027 2284211
NZ Engineering Magazine 19/05/2020
www.engineeringnews.co.nz
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