Achieving value for money, flexibility and good planning are three key drivers behind the appointment of two roading contractors to provide the Waikato district’s road maintenance and renewal services from July 2025.
Following a robust procurement process, Waikato District Council’s northern roading networks will be managed by Higgins, while the southern network will be managed by Fulton Hogan.
With council’s current contract with the Waikato District Alliance (Downer) expiring on 30 June 2025, staff have been working through the procurement and tender process for two new contractors for the past 18 months.
The procurement process was guided by outcomes set by council and five tender proposals were received. An independent audit was in place throughout the evaluation of tenderers to ensure the highest standards of fairness and transparency were met.
Critical success factors required from the new contractors highlighted during the procurement process were:
Value for Money
- Limited budget – best outcome for limited funds needed
- Long-term planning to manage future risk exposure
- Continuous improvement and innovation
- Fit for purpose to deliver community levels of service
- Appropriate measures to monitor achievements
- Use of local suppliers
Flexibility to meet changing community and network needs
- A focus on best outcomes for the network and communities (safety, balanced approach to urban/rural response)
- Supporting sustainable growth and transport access for business
Good planning and scheduling to deliver efficiency and responsiveness
- Improved information to enable communication and engagement with stakeholders, partners and communities.
- Response in emergencies to restore access and repair.
In the awarding of the two new contracts, council’s Service Delivery Manager Megan May said the evaluation process was very thorough.
“We had a really strong group of tenderers so it was important the thoroughness and transparency of our process was at the highest level,” she said.
“I am delighted to welcome Higgins and Fulton Hogan into our whaanau and we look forward to working with them to provide the best roading services possible for our communities.”
Waikato District Mayor Jacqui Church said she was thrilled with Higgins’ and Fulton Hogan’s involvement with the district from July 2025.
“Their innovative approaches and dedication to continuous improvement will ensure our roading services are delivering value for money for local ratepayers,” she said.
“This partnership is a significant step in our ongoing commitment to meet the evolving needs of our communities."
While welcoming Higgins and Fulton Hogan to Council, Ms May was quick to acknowledge the positive contribution Waikato District Alliance (Downer) has made to the district over the past decade.
“The Alliance Team have worked extremely hard over the past nine years to serve our communities well. During extreme storm events, they worked hard to respond to the communities needs and have maintained a high standard of health and safety throughout the term of the contract.
“Whilst this is an end of an era for this team, they are determined to finish strongly and our communities can expect to see business as usual of continued delivery of services until 30 June 2025.”
