New Era Contract Signed

The signing of a new roading maintenance contract marks a new era in contracting, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Clive Geddes said.

Mr Geddes today signed a ‘Target Price’ New Engineering Contract with Downer EDI Works Limited.

“This is an important day for the council and its’ an important day for me personally,” Mr Geddes said. Producing a higher level of transparency for the community, particularly in terms of roading maintenance, had been a goal from the outset of his tenure as Mayor.

The new ‘open book style’ contract covered roading and maintenance services throughout the district, as well as environmental maintenance services (eg, snow clearing, grass spraying.) The value of the contract was approximately $6 million per annum.

“This contract offers increased visibility of true cost and ensures the delivery of a quality service that provides greater value for money,” Mr Geddes said.

The contractor was ‘delighted’ with the new style contract, Downer EDI Works Limited general manager operations southern, Mark Keane said.

“It’s good to move into a new collaborative phase with true transparency of cost and two-way buy in,” Mr Keane said.

Both men acknowledged the hard work by both parties to produce the final contract, including the setting of Key Performance Indicators.

The proposed term of the new contract was three years, plus one, plus one - subject to satisfactory performance and commenced from 1 October 2009.