Chapter C9 Preparing improvement projects

C9.8 Submitting improvement projects

Funding requests for complex projects

Approved organisations, and the NZTA for state highway activities, must submit separate funding requests for each stage of delivery (investigation, design, construction/implementation and/or design/construct) for complex projects.

This enables the NZTA to be involved early in the project development, where it can best provide advice and assistance on funding requirements and project evaluation.

Funding requests for other projects

Approved organisations, and the NZTA for state highway activities, may submit requests for the investigation and design phases of generic and regular improvement projects, provided that a commitment is made to proceed with the project either:

• once the investigation and design phases are complete, or
• within the following three years.

These requests may be a lump sum to cover all qualifying improvement projects and named ‘advance fees’ in the funding request.

For other improvement projects, excluding complex projects, approved organisations may either:

• request a lump sum amount for advance fees, in order to develop those projects for possible construction funding within the next three years, or
• claim the fees when the construction/implementation phase of the project is approved.

Boundary roads and bridges

When programming work on territorial authority boundaries, for which the costs are to be shared between two or more territorial authorities, each contributing authority is to programme the full amount of their share of the total cost of the project in their respective programme.

Conformity with other plans

The submitted RLTP, its improvement projects and its 10-year budgets should be substantially the same as those included or referenced in the relevant approved organisation's annual plan or long-term council community plan (LTCCP). It is acknowledged that, because of differing timeframes, some variances will arise, but these are expected to be small at the time of the final RLTP submission.

Acceptance of category 1 improvement projects

The NZTA will only accept an improvement package, project or phase as meeting category 1 requirements when:

• any required prior phase has been completed
• the package, project or phase for which funding approval is requested is assessed as having complied with the relevant requirements.

Approved organisations, and the NZTA for state highway projects, must confirm that the project or phase has substantially reached the specified point before the NZTA will consider funding approval.