【新西兰华人每日资讯网 7月31日报道】

新西兰国会通过《基础设施融资与资金法修正案》（Infrastructure Funding and Financing Amendment Bill），旨在简化基础设施融资流程，为住房建设和经济发展提供更多支持。

住房部长 Chris Bishop 表示，政府“住房增长计划”（Going for Housing Growth）的核心目标，是解决长期阻碍住房发展的土地、基础设施和地方政府财政问题。

该计划包括三大支柱：

• 释放更多住房开发土地；
• 改善基础设施融资方式；
• 增强地方政府推动住房建设的动力。

目前，许多开发商具备建设住房的能力，但地方政府往往缺乏资金建设配套道路、水务和交通设施，成为住房供应扩大的主要障碍。

新法允许通过私人投资为基础设施项目提供资金，并由受益物业通过长期征费（levies）偿还成本，减少地方政府一次性借贷压力。

该模式曾在奥克兰北部 Milldale开发项目 中成功应用，为数千套新住房建设提供基础设施支持。

政府表示，过去该制度因程序复杂、成本高和审批障碍，实际应用有限，目前仅有三个项目获得相关授权。此次改革将：

• 简化征费审批流程；
• 降低行政成本；
• 扩大可融资项目范围。

未来可支持包括：

• 道路交通项目；
• NZTA和KiwiRail相关基础设施；
• 新水务机构建设项目。

此外，新法允许通过基础设施征费支付长期运营和维护成本，鼓励项目采用全生命周期设计，提高投资效率。

编辑点评：

新西兰住房短缺的重要原因之一，是基础设施建设速度跟不上人口增长。此次改革通过引入更多市场资金，有望加快道路、水务和交通设施建设，为住房开发提供更稳定的基础条件。

不过，未来如何平衡基础设施成本分担、居民负担和地方政府监管，仍将是政策实施中的关键问题。

（来源：New Zealand Government / Housing portfolio）

The Infrastructure Funding and Financing Amendment Bill passed by Parliament today will give developers and councils more innovative tools to fund and finance the infrastructure New Zealand needs to grow, Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say.

“Fixing the basics and building the future for New Zealand requires us to tackle the barriers which have prevented the delivery of the new homes and projects that will grow the economy, improve living standards and create jobs,” Mr Bishop says.

“The Government’s Going for Housing Growth programme delivers solutions through three pillars: Pillar One frees up land for development through Resource Management Act reforms and changes to national direction; Pillar Two improves infrastructure funding and financing; and Pillar Three gives councils stronger financial incentives to support housing development.

“Pillar Two addresses a key obstacle to housing growth: developers are often ready to build new homes, but councils lack the borrowing capacity to deliver the roads, water and other essential infrastructure needed to support them.

“Instead of relying on council borrowing, the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act allows infrastructure to be financed by private investors and repaid over time through levies on the properties that directly benefit from the infrastructure.

“The Act was inspired by the successful Milldale development north of Auckland, where this model unlocked the infrastructure needed to support thousands of new homes for Kiwi families.

“However, the Act has fallen short of its potential and proven too difficult to use in practice. Unnecessary complexity, cost and bureaucratic hurdles have limited uptake, with only three levies authorised under the Act to date.

“The changes passed today will make the Act faster, simpler and more practical to use by removing unnecessary barriers, streamlining the levy approval process and broadening the range of infrastructure projects that can be funded using this model.

“This includes transport projects delivered by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and KiwiRail, as well as water services infrastructure delivered through the new water organisations.”

Mr Court says the Bill also allows ongoing operational and maintenance costs to be funded through levy revenue.

“Allowing ongoing operational and maintenance costs to be recovered through levy revenue incentivises a whole-of-life design focus that will maximise value-for-money and make the model more attractive for future projects,” Mr Court says.

“The Bill also means councils and other infrastructure authorities will no longer be able to unnecessarily hold up proposals that meet the requirements of the Act. That will give developers greater certainty, reduce delays and help get more infrastructure projects underway.”

“With these improvements, the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act is now a much more practical option for councils, developers and infrastructure providers looking to get infrastructure projects off the ground. We encourage the sector to make full use of it.” Mr Bishop says.

“By making it easier to deliver the roads, water infrastructure and transport links our growing communities need, these changes will enable more homes to be built, support the economy and ensure growth pays for growth.”

Notes to editors:

National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFF) can be contacted by potential proponents to assess whether the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act may be suitable for their project in the first instance.
The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill, which deliver Pillar One of the Going for Housing Growth programme, have been reported back to Parliament by the Environment Committee.
Further information on Pillar Three of the Going for Housing Growth programme can be found on the Beehive Website.