Leading New Zealand law firm Bell Gully has advised National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFF) on separate transactions which will support the expansion of New Zealand’s electric vehicle public charger network and the delivery of a major residential development in the Waikato.
Expanding New Zealand’s EV charging network
NIFF will administer NZ$52.7 million in zero-interest loans from the Government to EV charging network ChargeNet and electricity generator and retailer Meridian Energy, which will be matched by NZ$60 million of co-investment from ChargeNet and Meridian. The total investment will support the rollout of 2,574 new public charge points, comprising 1,374 DC fast chargers and 1,200 AC chargers. When complete, this will more than double New Zealand’s public EV charging network, increasing the national total to around 4,500 public chargers.
Bell Gully partners Sarah Anderson-Butler and Anna Buchly advised NIFF on the EV charging agreements, supported by a team that included senior associate Finnbahr Boyle and lawyers Kristi Fleming, Saskia Lee and Theo Lotu-I'iga.
“The EV charger network is a critical part of the transition to a lower-emissions future on our roads,” said Anderson-Butler. “We’re delighted to have been given the opportunity to work alongside NIFF on this funding.”
For further details see here.
Unlocking residential development through the IFF model
The firm also advised NIFF on the first developer-led greenfield levy to support the development of around 1,500 new homes in the Te Awa Lakes residential development near Hamilton. Partners Sarah Anderson-Butler, Zac Kedgley-Foot and Mat Brown led the Bell Gully team on various aspects of the transaction, assisted by lawyers Stuart Leslie and Jack Lee.
The development is the third infrastructure project to use a funding structure enabled under Infrastructure Funding and Financing (IFF) legislation enacted in 2020 and the first transaction under IFF to support housing development. Under the IFF model, councils or private developers can unlock funding for essential infrastructure through use of a levy on those who benefit from the development, allowing costs to be recovered over time. For Te Awa Lakes, the Government has approved a levy to fund up to NZ$50 million of water and transport infrastructure to support 1,500 houses within the 2,500-property greenfield development.
Bell Gully has advised participants on all three IFF projects undertaken in New Zealand to date, with the funding structure previously used for transport and wastewater projects.
“It’s great to see the range of project types being funded under IFF expanding and for IFF funding to be accessed by a developer to unlock housing infrastructure that our communities need,” she said, noting there is potential for even broader use under changes proposed to the IFF Act.
For further details see here.
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