Appendix One: Sector summaries

Different infrastructure sectors have distinct oversight and governance arrangements, funding models, demand drivers, and challenges. While the National Infrastructure Plan takes a nationwide view, with a particular emphasis on improving how central government agencies plan and deliver infrastructure, this appendix provides more granular insights for 17 infrastructure sectors, covering both public and privately-owned assets.  

The Commission identified these sectors based on its previous work, including areas where Forward Guidance had been developed to forecast future investment demands, and feedback received on the draft Plan that helped to identify where additional sector commentary was desirable. We also received some feedback on issues like tourism-related demands that cut across many individual infrastructure sectors. 

Each summary describes the institutional structure of the sector – including oversight and governance arrangements and any applicable laws and regulatory regimes – as well as an explanation of how providers are funded and what we know about the condition and value of their assets. The summaries also include an overview of historical investment drivers, public perceptions of the sector – informed, where possible, by public survey information – and analysis of key challenges and opportunities. Some sectors are more detailed than others due to limitations around information quality and availability. 

The Commission has also brought together current investment intentions by sector, sourced from submissions to the National Infrastructure Pipeline, sector-specific plans, council long-term plans, and information provided to the Treasury for its Quarterly Investment Reporting. Where possible, these intentions have been contrasted against our Forward Guidance. This is provided in 2025 NZD and as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) for three decades through to 2055. The Guidance forecasts have been produced based on several factors, including what we’ve been prepared to invest in the past, how fast existing assets are wearing out, and how rapidly network demand might grow given national-level population and economic projections. 

The contrast between what providers in publicly-funded sectors say they’re planning to invest and our Forword Guidance can help inform investment decisions, including how decision-makers allocate scarce capital between sectors. The Commission will continue to refine its models and analysis, which will become more targeted as agencies develop mature asset management and investment plans and increasing numbers of private providers feed their intentions into the National Infrastructure Pipeline.