Wellington Water has engaged WT as the preferred supplier of quantity surveying services for its 2025–2026 Capital Works Programme.
Our team will act as cost consultants on Wellington’s major water infrastructure projects, providing professional quantity surveying support throughout the programme. This partnership will bolster financial oversight and cost control as the region undertakes an extensive upgrade of its water networks.
Upgrading Wellington’s Water Infrastructure
Wellington Water’s capital works programme encompasses a broad range of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects across the region. It oversees more than $330 million in capital expenditure per year and manages around 140 projects at any given time. This investment is funding upgrades to ageing pipes, reservoirs, and treatment facilities to improve service reliability and accommodate future growth in the Wellington region.
However, the region’s unique challenges have historically hampered efficient delivery of these projects. Wellington’s complex terrain and ageing three waters infrastructure have made it difficult to scale up upgrades, contributing to funding shortfalls. Past reviews have highlighted governance and oversight gaps, with shortcomings in programme management leading to inefficiencies. The new capital works programme framework – with WT embedded as a key partner – is designed to address these issues by centralising cost oversight and driving better value for money in project delivery. This 2025–2026 programme comes at a pivotal time, aiming to improve efficiency, value for money, and local delivery oversight across the region.
Strengthening oversight and efficiency
Wellington Water’s revamped approach to procurement and cost management is expected to strengthen control of project costs and ensure infrastructure investments deliver maximum value. Rigorous cost control is especially crucial now, as several councils in the region plan to bring water project delivery back in-house by 1 July 2025 to gain greater direct oversight. By partnering with WT, Wellington Water is taking proactive steps to streamline project delivery and meet these goals ahead of anticipated changes in service delivery models.
WT’s role in cost management:
- Early budgeting and estimating: Preparing initial cost estimates and aligning project budgets during the planning stages.
- Detailed cost planning: Developing comprehensive cost plans and conducting value engineering reviews to optimise expenditures.
- Risk management and procurement advice: Managing cost risks and advising on procurement strategies, working with contractors to ensure tenders and contracts deliver the best value outcomes.
- Construction phase oversight: Tracking expenditures throughout construction, administering monthly valuations, and providing regular financial reports to keep projects on budget and aligned with value-for-money objectives.
This appointment marks a key step in strengthening cost control and delivering greater efficiency across Wellington’s critical water infrastructure investments.
Our project lead:
