NLTP Bulletin

Welcome to the NLTP Bulletin, our newsletter with information about management of the current National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) and what we're working on for the development of the 2021-24 NLTP.

Development of the 2021-24 NLTP

• Last month we held final moderation workshops on the low cost low risk programmes and improvement activities that were submitted for inclusion in the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
   
• Thank you for providing us with quality information and well-evidenced submissions to support the moderation process. We acknowledge the significant work that went into preparing these bids and ensuring your programmes were realistic and maintained levels of service.
   
• The National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) revenue forecast is $13.5 billion. Of this, $6.2 billion NLTF funding has already been allocated to road maintenance and public transport service programmes. This is in line with the Waka Kotahi Board’s focus to maintain existing levels of services ahead of investing in new activities.
   
• A significant portion of forecast revenue is also set aside for projects that are already approved or under construction. This will use much of the remaining available funding.
   
• Across all six improvement activity classes, there is only about $1.1 billion NLTF funding available for new projects. We have received bids worth $4 billion for this NLTF share.
   
• With every NLTP there are always more bids for funding than there is available NLTF funding. However, this year the funding is more constrained than ever and we’ll have to make some difficult funding decisions.
   
• We are now developing draft recommendations for the improvement activity classes and for low cost low risk programmes. We'll take these recommendations to our Board who will then make the final decisions when they adopt the NLTP in late August.
   
• We’ve updated our investment signals following the June moderation, this includes information about constraints in each activity class.
  
  See the 2021-24 NLTP Investment Signals - July 2021

Interim funding

	Last month the Waka Kotahi Board approved interim funding arrangements for the 2021-24 NLTP to cover activities delivered while there is no adopted NLTP in place.   There will be a period between 1 July 2021 when the 2018-21 NLTP ends, and late August when the Board adopts the 2021-24 NLTP, that there will be no adopted NLTP.   The interim funding arrangements ensure requests for funding continue to be approved and maintenance programmes and public transport services can be claimed during this period.   If you'll be making a claim for your continuous programmes or committed low cost low risk (LCLR) programmes in the next two months, please contact heather.benwood@nzta.govt.nz who will help you through the process.   You'll be unable to submit claims for new LCLR projects until the Board has adopted the 2021-24 NLTP and we have notified you of your programme funding.

End of year claims and shut down

• Please ensure final claims are submitted in Transport Investment Online (TIO) by 5pm on Tuesday 13 July.
   
• TIO will close for two weeks between Wednesday 14 July and Wednesday 28 July to process claims and carry over any unspent allocations into the next financial year.
   
• Please refer to the 2020-21 year end procedures for more information.

State highway maintenance

	Indicative funding for state highway maintenance during the next three years has increased to $2.46 billion but is 12% less than our bid as a result of the constrained funding environment for the 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme.   In response, we have already reviewed our state highway maintenance programme for the next three years and are adjusting our programme to ensure our spend is within our allocation.   Given the level of available funding, we're very focused on ensuring we are prioritising work to the most needy areas and looking for improvement opportunities to get best value from the money available.   Across the network, our investment will be focused on ensuring we keep the state highway safe. We'll target areas with the greatest need, focusing on maintaining high-risk, high-volume sections of the state highway network which are critical for getting goods to market and keeping communities connected, and those areas with the greatest remedial needs.   We're finalising our first year continuous programme with our contractors to ensure they can be up and running as soon as the weather allows and are introducing a monitoring programme to continually review the network, adjust our programme and better target investment in years two and three.   We'll be working closer with our suppliers and contractors to achieve greater efficiencies across our operation and deliver better outcomes within available funding.   Changes will be made to some of our practices to achieve better value for money outcomes and we'll look to work closer with local government where savings can be made across both state highways and local roads.   In coming weeks, we'll share more about our approach as we finalise our programme for each region.

Rail Network Investment Programme

• For the land transport system to work effectively, we need to ensure all travel options are playing to their strengths. Rail contributes many benefits including reduced road network congestion and transport emissions, and improved safety and resilience across the land transport system.
   
• Earlier this year, Government released the New Zealand Rail Plan (the Rail Plan) which sets out the long-term vision for rail. It outlines the commitment to the significant investment needed to achieve a resilient, reliable and safe rail network.
   
• A new funding and planning framework for the rail network was introduced to support the Rail Plan. The changes mean KiwiRail can receive funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) for investment in the rail network.
   
• To be eligible for this funding, KiwiRail is now required to prepare a Rail Network Investment Programme (RNIP) every three years.
   
• The RNIP sets out the rail network activities that KiwiRail proposes, and that require investment from the NLTF. The development of the first RNIP has been guided by the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2021 and the Rail Plan.
   
• The Minister of Transport has approved the first RNIP at a total cost of $1.35 billion, with an initial $1.27 billion from the NLTF approved for rail activities contained in the RNIP. This includes:
  
  - $1.2 billion for maintenance and renewal of the national freight network – and Government is contributing Crown funding of $834.4m into the NLTF to support this. This will be funded from the Rail Network Activity class.
  
  - An initial $70 million for metro rail improvements in Auckland and Wellington, funded from the Public Transport Infrastructure activity class.
  
  - A further $80 million from the Public Transport Infrastructure activity class is expected to be approved for metro rail improvements, subject to successful business cases. If approved, this will bring the total investment from the NLTF to $1.35 billion.

  See the RNIP on KiwiRail’s website
  
  See the Minister’s press release

More information

For more information on the NLTP, you can visit our website or contact us online.