New Zealand has picked Australia’s Cimic Group as preferred choice to deliver four new schools in a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
Cimic Group’s role in the project spans design, construction and financing through two of its companies, Pacific Partnerships and CPB Contractors.
The contract is anticipated by the New Zealand Ministry of Education to be worth more than $140m (NZ$200m), Cimic said in a statement.
Revenue to the Cimic Group companies will be finalised at contract execution, which is expected in the coming months.
Pacific Partnerships, together with HRL Morrison & Co managed PIP Fund 2 will provide financing for 25 years. Operational services will be performed by Spotless.
CPB Contractors will deliver the design and construction in joint venture with Christchurch-based company Southbase Construction.
This third New Zealand Schools PPP initiative includes the design and construction of four new primary schools (three in Auckland and one in Hamilton), the co-location of two other high schools, and operational services of the schools for 25 years.
The agreement is also expected to contain an expansion mechanism under which the Ministry of Education has the right to add additional schools to the project to the aggregate capital value of NZ$200 million.
The project’s construction phase is scheduled to start in the coming months, with the schools set to open in 2019.
Image: Auckland, New Zealand (Wikimedia Commons)
