The New Zealand government has allocated NZD 400m ($242m) to state-owned KiwiRail to build two new ropax vessels to replace its existing fleet of three ageing ferries.
The figure is part of a wider NZD 1.2b earmarked in the government’s 2020 budget to upgrade the country’s rail and ferry infrastructure.
KiwiRail chief executive Greg Miller told local media this week that capital funding promised for the new ferries highlighted the importance of the ferry service between New Zealand’s north and south islands.
