New Zealand infrastructure: Stop-start projects cost $11.8b since 2000 - Shamubeel Eaqub

Opinion byShamubeel EaqubNZ Herald·22 Aug, 2026 03:00 AM4 mins to readShamubeel Eaqub is the Chief Economist at Simplicity, with over two decades of experience in economicsEconomist Shamubeel Eaqub says we must be clever and less wasteful. Photo / Alyse Wright We have an infrastructure deficit, we don’t maintain what we have, we don’t build what we need, and we waste precious money and resources with silly political stop-start. New Zealand has an infrastructure deficit of about $210 billion. Because we need to keep maintaining and renewing what we have, investing