PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 17 February 2026 – Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington
Āpōpō welcomes National Infrastructure Plan and its clear emphasis on asset management principles.
Āpōpō – Infrastructure Asset Management Professionals, the lead association for infrastructure asset management professionals in Aotearoa, welcomes Te Waihanga New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Plan as a realistic, future-focused and unifying strategy to guide the country’s infrastructure decisions.
The Plan responds to what New Zealanders have called for: better, not bigger; value for money; and dependable services delivered where and when they are needed. It has the potential to provide much needed sector improvement, while assuring certainty and stability in decision making for the coming decades.
The Plan sets out four main themes: Planning what we can afford, Prioritising the right projects, Looking after what we’ve got and Making it easier to build better. Throughout these themes is a clear progression toward the thinking that underpins modern asset management practice. This alignment reflects the context that most of the infrastructure New Zealand will rely on in the next 30 years already exists, and its performance in delivering service value is declining.
“This plan moves Aotearoa from big promises to better practice,” says Āpōpō Chief Executive Murray Pugh.
“Asset management principles are deeply embedded throughout the Plan – from levels of service to long‑term planning, prioritisation, risk management and investment discipline. It signals a shift towards the practical, whole‑of‑life focus New Zealand desperately needs.”
A realistic picture of the challenge ahead
The Plan sets out the scale of the issues facing Aotearoa:
- New Zealand has invested 5.8% of GDP annually on infrastructure over the past 20 years – among the highest in the OECD – yet ranks near the bottom for efficiency and value.
- Much of the infrastructure built in past decades is now wearing out, and climate change is increasing risk and cost.
- Consenting costs $1.3 billion a year, and deferred maintenance continues to undermine long‑term performance.
- Many central government agencies do not have complete asset registers or long‑term plans, creating uncertainty and inefficiency.
The Plan directly addresses these challenges through a strengthened emphasis on long‑term investment planning, robust business cases, predictable funding signals, and decision‑making grounded in evidence and affordability.
Asset management ideas underpin the Plan’s direction
Many of the strongest recommendations reflect fundamentals of the asset management discipline. These include:
- Looking after what we’ve got: recognising that up to 60 cents in every $1 of future infrastructure spending will need to go towards maintenance and renewals.
- Understanding our assets: requiring agencies to maintain asset registers and understand condition, performance, and risk.
- Long‑term planning: requiring credible, scenario‑based plans aligned with fiscal strategy and reflecting agreed levels of service.
- Assurance and transparency: strengthening reporting on maintenance, renewals, service performance, risk, and investment intentions.
- Resilience and risk management: integrating natural hazards, climate impacts and malicious threats into planning – a core part of asset lifecycle thinking.
- Better sequencing and prioritisation: recommending that projects funded through the Budget must be linked to long‑term plans and well‑developed business cases.
These shifts recognise that infrastructure is a means to an end – the goal is not the asset itself, but the services it delivers: safe water, reliable transport and connection, climate‑resilient communities, and facilities that support wellbeing and our expected quality of life.
“The Plan correctly identifies that the first rule of asset management is to understand your assets – what you have, where it is, what condition it’s in, and the risks it faces,” says Pugh.
“From that foundation, we can make sound decisions about demand management, maintenance, improvements, renewals, or retirement, and begin to have honest conversations about funding and trade‑offs.”
A path forward
Progress now depends on leaders and decision‑makers across central and local government rising to the challenge. The Government’s formal response, due mid‑June, will be significant for all 17 infrastructure sectors identified in the Plan. However, these sectors need not wait.
New Zealand can immediately begin lifting practice by:
- knowing how to do the basics well,
- improving performance transparency,
- strengthening capability and systems, and
- investing in the people and data needed to deliver.
“We are ready to help Aotearoa get on with it,” Pugh adds. “Āpōpō stands alongside professionals to lift capability, build maturity and support delivery aligned with best‑practice standards. With the right information, competent practitioners and predictable funding, New Zealand can turn this Plan into better, more resilient services for generations to come.”
Āpōpō will continue to analyse the Plan in detail and provide guidance for practitioners, asset owners and decision‑makers.
About Āpōpō
Āpōpō is the lead association for infrastructure asset management professionals in New Zealand. With over 1,200 members and founded in 1948, Āpōpō represents those who take responsibility for managing the country’s infrastructure assets that deliver community outcomes, including roads, rail, air and seaports, pipes and water treatment plants, and community health, education, justice and defence facilities.
Formerly known as ALGENZ, INGENIUM and, until 2023, IPWEA NZ, Āpōpō offers professional development courses, events and asset management practice guidance, as well as globally recognised accreditation, career pathways and industry recognition through annual awards and scholarships.
