Accelerated investment in school infrastructure is improving classrooms and providing a welcome boost for builders and tradies across New Zealand.
The acceleration of over $400 million of investment in school infrastructure has been warmly welcomed ‘at a time when our industry needs the work and our schools need new facilities’, says Infrastructure New Zealand Chief Executive Nick Leggett.
“When it comes to delivering infrastructure, it’s not just about how much we invest as a country, it’s also about how we do things to make better use of those investments,” says Leggett. “This means making the most of what we have got and being as efficient as possible in how we deliver new projects. This school infrastructure programme ticks both those boxes.”
The Government announced it was accelerating $413 million of investment in school infrastructure to improve classrooms and provide a significant boost for builders and tradies across New Zealand.
Education Minister Erica Stanford said, “We have a significant pipeline of maintenance work to keep our schools in great shape, but we’re accelerating $413 million of projects so they can get underway sooner.
“This is great news for schools and communities that will benefit for better learning spaces, but it will also power up the trade and construction sectors, creating a steady flow of jobs for builders, plumbers, roofers and more,” she says.
The investment package will consist of:
- $58 million for operating maintenance work for all schools.
- $255 million for internal and external improvements on all isolated, small and rural schools, representing half of all state schools.
- $100 million over five years for urgent and essential infrastructure work.
“This significant investment highlights our Government’s commitment to our young people and their education, but also a willingness to stimulate important parts of our economy that need it.
“This work was always going to be needed to ensure that existing infrastructure doesn’t end up with bigger problems down the track. We’re bringing it forward to support our schools, and our tradespeople now.
“Our Government has turned around the delivery of school property. We’ve halved the cost of a new classroom from $1.2 million to $620,000, the Ministry of Education is now generating more cost-savings by focusing on offsite manufacturing solutions, and communication with schools has improved.
“Our focus remains on driving efficiencies across the school property portfolio, so parents, teachers and communities have clarity and certainty about their school’s future,” Stanford says.
The $413 million package consists of $58 million of new money, $100 million from Budget 24, $80 million of Ministry of Education Baseline, and $175 million of brought-forward funding.
Leggett said, “In accelerating this funding and focusing on improved procurement through the use of standardised designs and offsite manufacturing, the Government is demonstrating that social infrastructure can be achieved quickly and efficiently. In this case reducing the cost of a new classroom by half means we can now deliver twice the number of classrooms for the same amount of money.
“Bringing these projects forward not only addresses urgent demand in our schools but also gives the construction and supply industries the certainty of work when it is needed most,” he says. “It is good the Government is heeding the call from industry to get more standardised work into the market as quickly as possible.”
“This will be a big step forward for ensuring our education facilities can keep up with growing demand and provide the high-quality learning environments our children deserve. It also proves that New Zealand can get better value for money in infrastructure and work to market swiftly when we put our minds to it.”
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