The infrastructure construction industries remain cautiously optimistic about the future, whereas the building sectors anticipate continued contraction ahead, a report has revealed.
The 2025 Infrastructure and Buildings Survey from infrastructure consulting firm AECOM highlights persistent challenges in infrastructure financing, project delivery, and climate resilience. Meanwhile, the building sector remains pessimistic about workload and investment levels, with sentiment hitting its lowest point to date.
“We’ve climbed out of the 2024 slump, but we’re not kidding ourselves,” the report said.
“There are some serious gaps between what we want to build and what we can actually deliver.”
“And every three years the political goalposts move.”
Craig Davidson, managing director of AECOM New Zealand, said the industry requires a credible pipeline of projects, clear funding certainty, and enhancements to the resource consenting process. He noted that the current consent process is unnecessarily long and expensive, especially in relation to energy development.
The survey showed that overall industry pessimism was cut in half, with fewer than 10% of respondents anticipating a decrease in spending.
20% expressed confidence in government financing mechanisms, while half of the respondents doubted alternative funding options like public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other equity investments.
Uncertain funding was linked to an ongoing shortage of skilled workers and a brain drain to overseas markets, both identified as the greatest risks to development.
“If you have that certainty, you can invest in staff; you can invest in staff development,” Davidson said.
“Our industry in particular has lost close to 10 to 15% of workers over the past 18 months.”
Although project cancellations have decreased, the report noted that industries still face challenges due to a shortage of skilled workers.
Davidson said that attracting staff back to New Zealand when demand increased was challenging.
He emphasised the need for greater awareness of how debt-financed investment in infrastructure delivers a proven long-term return on investment.
“Debt funding infrastructure projects will unblock the efficiency of the pipeline and get New Zealand moving,” he said.