Get infrastructure right first time, save the taxpayer billions
Auckland light rail, iReX and the Dunedin Hospital to name but three projects where delays or outright cancellation have resulted in billions in lost taxpayer dollars.
Artist's impression of Dunedin Hospital, the poster child for the costs of delays.
Shelving large scale projects has cost the country between $6.1 billion and $17.65b since 2000, new analysis shows.
A research report by economist Shamubeel Eaqub suggests that far from saving money, pausing or deferring projects will invariably add major costs. The midpoint of that sits at about
