Auckland Council’s $3.9 billion splurge: Where buyouts, tunnels and a busway took the cash
The buyout of 667 storm‑damaged homes was the biggest cost incurred in Auckland Council’s record $3.9 billion capital programme last year, new figures reveal.
The buyout scheme was well on track in the 2025 financial year, but it has left those who missed out feeling helpless, and the council with hundreds of empty, cleared and flood-prone sections on its books.
Strip out the $727 million paid to homeowners forced to abandon their red‑stickered properties after 2023’s furious floods, and the council’s capital programme lands roughly in line with the $3.2b recorded in 2024.
A Herald investigation shows that major transport and water projects dominated the $1.4b spent on the top 10 capital projects, led by $240m for the Eastern Busway and $129m for new trains before the City Rail Link (CRL) opens on Auckland Transport’s side, and $170m for the Central Interceptor on Watercare’s side.
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The council has excluded its spending on the $5.5b CRL from the $3.9b capital programme because it is “technically recorded as an investment” in the 50:50 funding partnership with the Government, says financial strategy general manager Michael Burns.
Asked about the 2025 contribution, Burns said the council invested $218m in the CRL joint venture, which is expected to wrap up when the 3.4km rail line opens later this year after a decade-long build.
Alongside the opening of the CRL, the Central Interceptor, a 16km wastewater tunnel from central Auckland to the Māngere treatment plant, will be fully commissioned this year for $1.67b.
The council planned to invest $4.2b in capital projects this year, including the CRL and remaining property buyouts, Burns said.
Funding for the $3.9b programme was supported by an additional $1.3b of debt (council debt rose to $14.2b in the financial year), development contributions, NZ Transport Agency subsidies for transport projects, and a 50% Government contribution to property buyouts.
Burns said the council used debt to spread the cost of assets over the generations that would benefit from them.
Continued investment in Auckland over the next decade required debt to rise to fund a record $39.3b capital programme under the long-term plan, and the council’s financial strategy placed firm limits on borrowing to ensure debt remained prudent and sustainable, he said.
Mayor Wayne Brown said his focus was on investment in Auckland’s growth and on building resilience to the impacts of climate change.
He said the council had invested $1.5b to improve public transport and reduce congestion, and $1.2b in water infrastructure to ensure reliable services, reduce wastewater overflows and protect the environment.
“As an engineer, I understand the importance of keeping infrastructure in good working order, and making sure it’s there before spades go in the ground for developments.”
Several significant projects sit just outside the top 10, including a new wastewater pipe beneath Queen St to support central‑city growth, repairs to the Ōrākei main sewer line damaged by a sinkhole, roadworks in Drury, the Pt Chevalier to Westmere cycleway and road upgrade, further progress on the Te Whau Pathway, and $15.8m spent renewing library collections.
At the community level, the council invested $1.3b in upgrading sports facilities, community buildings, parks and playgrounds.
These included work on the northern seawall at Ōrewa Beach, renewal works at Henderson’s West Wave Aquatic Centre, upgrading Manurewa’s historic Nathan Homestead, and completing the long-planned Te Rimutahi park on Ponsonby Rd.
Council group chief financial officer Ross Tucker said, “We are delivering real tangible progress for Aucklanders by carefully investing and prioritising to deliver on our long-term plan.”
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