How a provincial regional council rose to the challenge of successfully delivering an unprecedented $250 million flood infrastructure programme
In early 2023, New Zealand was hit by two separate extreme weather events: the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. These extraordinary events caused widespread, catastrophic flooding across large parts of the North Island, including Hawke’s Bay.
In response, the New Zealand Government committed funding to clean-up, rebuild and aid long-term recovery and protection. This funding was directed towards initiatives responding to what the government coined ‘NIWE’ – North Island Weather Events.
It included two national funding packages: an immediate $883 million to make urgent infrastructure repairs, assist with temporary accommodation, and provide business and community support; and $941 million for the NIWE Response and Recovery.
Confronted with widespread damage, community displacement, and urgency from both the government and residents, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) had to pivot rapidly, moving from a disaster response to a long-term recovery and resilience building strategy.
The scale and pace required for delivery were unprecedented in the council’s history, necessitating a complete transformation in how it planned, procured, and implemented infrastructure projects.
While large metropolitan council organisations deliver capital works to the tune of around $100m a year, the challenge facing HBRC was how to deliver the $250 million infrastructure package in a four-year window — when historically the organisation had an annual spend on capital works of between $1m and $10m.
Cyclone Gabrielle may have tested the region’s limits, but the response has proven its resilience — and its improved readiness for whatever comes next.
Enter IPMO
To meet the challenge, HBRC established a dedicated Infrastructure Programme Management Office (IPMO) to oversee the delivery of the government’s investment.
Jon Kingsford — turning the focus from repair to rebuild
“The IPMO was borne out of that rapid rebuild phase, when we turned our focus from repairing existing flood mitigation assets to designing and building new ones for the new NIWE programme,” says HBRC Regional Asset Manager, Jon Kingsford, IPMO’s creator and first NIWE Programme Director.
“From HBRC’s perspective, we were embarking on a programme whose scale was unknown to the organisation.
“Before Cyclone Gabrielle, we had a capital delivery team of only five. Immediately following the cyclone we completed a lot of very fast paced work we dubbed “Rapid Rebuild”.
The IPMO is part of HBRC’s Asset Management Group and its set up was swift; 20 positions were mobilised in four months, a new structure and new processes stood up, a dedicated project management tracking software tool implemented, all helped by consultancy firm BECA, brought in to ensure the right systems were in place.
Many projects
From Wairoa in the north to Pōrangahau in the south, NIWE funding in Hawke’s Bay was destined for a range of practical and wide-ranging projects: new flood infrastructure builds, upgrades of existing flood assets, repairs and improvements to pump stations, smarter telemetry installations, and reinforcements of stopbanks – the steady, methodical business of making communities safer and more resilient to future floods.
The new flood infrastructure builds which HBRC has been tasked to deliver are in communities that were directly impacted by the government’s Land Categorisation process, which identified the requirement for flood resilience structures to make them safer to continue to live in: Wairoa, Whirinaki, Waiohiki, Pākōwhai, Ōhiti Rd, Havelock North and Pōrangahau.
These NIWE projects are co-funded by the Regional Council and the Crown, except for Wairoa, whose $70 million project budget is 100 percent government funded.
The IPMO team
With a large programme of work about to land, Kingsford knew he would need to create a multi-disciplinary office. After much research, the programme management office model was settled on as the most appropriate, a business case presented to councillors and the green light received.
“The key driver for implementing an IPMO,” says Kingsford, “was to create a single, integrated structure to enable the successful delivery of a myriad of projects simultaneously”
Essentially, the IPMO houses a team, the primary focus of which was the successful delivery of the $250m NIWE flood resilience programme that includes 11 projects, with nine of these construction projects of varying sizes.
“We had projects identified by the government and funding approved. We knew we’d need a dedicated and experienced team of skilled project managers, financial and programme controls specialists, communications and engagement, procurement, land access experts, and engineers, however the existing teams within HBRC were at capacity already. There was a risk to delivery if we didn’t augment our resources,” Kingsford says.
Down to work
Andrew Caseley — overbudget is not a place we want to be
Andrew Caseley is HBRC’s Manager Regional Projects and is now heading up the IPMO. He has more than 30 years’ senior executive experience including large project and programme management experience and was a former Chief Executive of HBRC for 13 years. He says the work programme is complex, with many pressures applied both internally and externally, and the added challenge of running so many projects and project parts in parallel.
“The IPMO was set up with a view to deliver these NIWE projects over a four-year period, which is in itself challenging. We’re moving at pace because of the cost escalation risks and the expectations from both our communities and our Crown funding partners, however a large part of our programme risk is land access and that is something that takes time – but unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury,” says Caseley
“In saying that, we are meeting these challenges, and the programme is on track. One of our new builds in Waiohiki – a one-kilometre stopbank – has diggers on the ground and work is underway. It’s immensely pleasing that we are working through the complexities successfully.
“A major part of that success is the IPMO’s ability to co-ordinate and manage the relationships between consultants, engineering teams, contractors, iwi partners, and central government agencies.”
Align with community
Caseley says a key priority is ensuring that the NIWE programme aligns with community needs while also incorporating more resilient design principles to mitigate future climate risks wherever feasible. He points out that the physical work revolves around the government’s Land Categorisation process, which identified vulnerable communities post-Cyclone Gabrielle.
“The reality is that there are a lot of other areas in the region that may have similar flood-prone issues, but the funding is very specific for HBRC to deliver infrastructure solutions that will change these land categorisations and build resilience in these communities who were very hard-hit in Gabrielle. It’s part of the bigger picture of improved flood resilience for our region.”
As well as the pace of work, Caseley identifies other risks that need careful mitigation: constructability, the need to work around publicly owned and existing assets, resourcing, and budgetary pressures.
“HBRC has historically built stopbanks in the region, but this is impractical in some areas because of the property access issues and cost impacts. Pākōwhai and Pōrangahau are good examples of this where we’ve had to move away from considering solely stopbank solutions and look at sheet-piling and other floodwall structures.
“We’re also working within the region’s natural features of braided rivers and publicly owned assets like local and NZTA road networks and bridges, particularly in Ōhiti and Whirinaki. In the latter we’re working with NZTA on raising part of State Highway 2. It’s complex and definitely a learning process for all parties.”
Resource issues
Resourcing has also presented a significant hurdle, both in terms of skilled labour and materials. The IPMO adopted a procurement strategy early on that includes a pre-qualified supplier panel to streamline procurement and reduce lead times.
There are close and collaborative working relationships with other councils in Hawke’s Bay including Hastings District, Wairoa District and Central Hawke’s Bay District Councils, where information, resources and expertise are shared. While engineers are plentiful both in house and in consultancies, Caseley has identified one discipline hugely valued but which he says is “a disappearing breed”.
“Specialist river engineering is a skill set that is disappearing and is an issue going forward for regional councils across the country. River engineers make their careers in how rivers best convey flood flows, which obviously is of high value in the world we’re operating in.”
Double-edged sword
How this quarter of a billion-dollar programme is paid for is also multi-faceted. While the NIWE programme is co-funded by the Crown, HBRC takes the risk of any programme overruns.
This is “not a place we want to be” says which Andrew Caseley, HBRC Manager Regional Projects and head of IPMO.
“Council must cover 100 percent of any programme budget overruns and that will create an increased debt burden for current and future ratepayers. We simply don’t want that to happen.”
Now the IPMO is two years into its work, the NIWE programme is on track, but the pressure is on to secure access to land, put project contracts out to market and to bring communities along in support as resilience is built back into once-decimated neighbourhoods.
The IPMO has redefined what’s possible for a regional council under pressure. Whether it evolves, dissolves, or transforms into something new, its impact will endure in the strengthened infrastructure, empowered communities, and the institutional knowledge now embedded within HBRC.
Sarah Cameron is a Communications Team Lead at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.
