The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission has published the National Infrastructure Plan which sets out a practical, affordable pathway to deliver the infrastructure New Zealanders need to thrive over the next 30 years.
It’s ambitious — but centred on affordability. It provides decision-makers with a clear, system-wide picture of where pressures are emerging and where investment will deliver the greatest value.
While the plan looks at the long term, it’s clear that action needs to be taken now with many communities currently grappling with the impact of severe weather.
This is only the latest in a long line of these event. This year alone, eight state of local emergencies have been declared across the country due to severe weather and flooding.
The Commission says alongside recent infrastructure failures, the importance of investing to renew and build resilience into the networks that sustain our way of life is clear.
Each year more than $20 billion is invested in infrastructure, yet on a dollar-for-dollar basis we achieve less than many of our international peers. We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done.
The plan includes 16 recommendations to improve the foundations of the infrastructure system, and 10 priorities for the next decade. The priorities include:
• identifying cost-effective flood risk infrastructure,
• completing catch-up on renewals in the water sector and restoring affordability,
• lifting hospital investment for an ageing population, and
• implementing time-of-use charging and road-user charges to get the most out of our urban road networks.
Planning for today and tomorrow
Some of the infrastructure issues we’re facing have been decades in the making — and they’ll take time to fix. But New Zealand also faces acute pressures that require attention now.
Addressing the top 10 priority areas identified in the plan will result in visible infrastructure gains, and support longer-term recommendations for the next 30 years.
The plan does this by charting an affordable way to meet a diverse set of infrastructure demands over time, and identifying how a large programme of significant investments such as roads, rapid transit and hospitals can be prioritised and sequenced.
In doing so, the plan demonstrates a fundable and affordable programme of works that future-proofs existing services, while incrementally building on the network as the country grows and develops.
Feedback on the draft National Infrastructure Plan that the Commission released in June 2025 showed strong agreement on the need for greater certainty, better coordination, and a stronger focus on delivery and affordability. The final plan has been informed by what was heard then.
However, a plan by itself won’t change anything. The National Infrastructure Plan charts the course, but progress depends on how decision-makers, delivery agencies, industry, and communities use the plan to do things differently.
• Download the plan here: https://tewaihanga.govt.nz/national-infrastructure-plan.
