Value of infrastructure projects starts New Zealand 2023, by type

In 2023, transport construction projects dominated the infrastructure work expected to start in that year in New Zealand, with a value of over seven billion New Zealand dollars. In contrast, the value of electricity and gas construction projects was around 300 million New Zealand dollars that year.

Infrastructure projects

New Zealand’s infrastructure project starts were dominated by transport, water, and subdivision projects in 2023, with the number of transport infrastructure projects commenced coming to over 1.15 thousand. Water projects followed closely at just shy of 1.1 thousand project commencements. Energy projects, on the other hand, accounted for the lowest share of infrastructure projects started in New Zealand that year, at only one percent of all projects.

Constructing a climate-resilient infrastructure network

Over the years, natural disasters have proved to be a large threat to New Zealand’s infrastructure network, with low confidence among civil construction workers regarding the ability of the country's infrastructure to cope with climate change, as expressed in a 2023 survey. The 2011 Christchurch and 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes saw damage caused to infrastructure and many properties, and in 2023, flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle critically affected several buildings, roads, bridges, and electricity lines. These recent events have shown that the country’s existing infrastructure network and new projects planned must be adapted to withstand climate change, with this topic increasingly discussed in debates among governmental representatives and industry leaders.