What are the 10 key areas of investment in the next 50 years?
From the City Rail Link and rapid transit to the Additional Harbour Crossing, ferries and autonomous mobility: building blocks of a 2.5M-person Auckland.
Q.7.1 — Utilities
What are the 10 key areas of investment in the next 50 years?
As Auckland grows toward a population of around 2.5 million, the building blocks of a fully connected, high-capacity, multi-modal system include:
- City Rail Link — 3.45 km of twin tunnels opening in 2026, enabling trains every 7–8 minutes and 54,000 passengers per hour.
- Auckland Rapid Transit Network — dedicated busways evolving into higher-capacity modes.
- Additional Waitematā Harbour Crossing — multi-modal links for road, rail, and active transport.
- Ferry services — modernised fleet and enhanced wharves for cross-water journeys.
- Heavy rail growth — extensions, new stations in Drury and Paerātā, further electrification.
- Northwest Rapid Transit — serving growing suburbs like Redhills and Huapai.
- Eastern Busway — linking Pakuranga to Botany.
- City centre to Māngere and Airport mass rapid transit.
- Active transport networks — safe separated cycling paths, improved footpaths, complete streets.
- Autonomous and on-demand shared mobility — driverless shuttles, robotaxis, and Mobility-as-a-Service integration.
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Written by Mark Pervan, Director, City Builders Association Limited
Mark Pervan is the founder and director of City Builders Association Limited, an Auckland civic think tank funded solely by membership. He has run manufacturing plants, with global sourcing and supply chain management in the same role, and has been project manager on multiple commercial and residential building projects. He was also responsible for product design and development across multiple mediums, and served as sales and marketing manager. He is a company director and business owner, including as a director of Idea Foundry. He served three years as an elected member of the Puketāpapa Local Board (2022–2025) and was a council candidate for the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward of Auckland Council.
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