Finance Minister Bill English says a report into the progress of the Government's major projects shows improvement to many of its largest, most complex and challenging investments.

The Major Projects Performance Report July-October 2015 provides a comprehensive update on the Government's 41 biggest projects – that together have a whole of life cost of $18.5 billion - and advises on how well they are delivering on expectations.

The projects, which span 22 agencies, are assessed using a five-point scale ranging from Red through to Amber and then Green.

'The performance of the portfolio has improved since the last period. Fifty four per cent of projects are now Green or Amber/ Green compared to 42 per cent in the previous period – an increase from 16 to 22 of the 41 projects,” Mr English says.

'The monitoring is to detect early warning signs of any potential trouble to help decision-makers make changes to keep the project on track.

'The value in providing this information to the public is that it offers transparency on how tax-payer funded projects are progressing. The reports are released four months after being considered by the Cabinet to allow time for commercial sensitivities to pass,” he says.

The number of Red or Amber/Red projects has reduced from six in the last period to four in this period, with just one rated as Red.

'Thirty five projects are rated Amber or Amber/Green which is to be expected – the report covers the most complex and expensive investments across Government and an Amber rating indicates that successful delivery of the project is feasible, but issues exist that require management attention.

'Given the nature of the projects, a Green rating is only given when delivery is nearing completion.”

The July-October report identified a number of areas that require attention to enable greater project success such as better collaboration, governance and management of supplier performance.

'With this information the Government can be responsive. Although the report released today still shows the Christchurch Central Delivery Programme as Red rated, the follow-up report for the November-February period (to be released in the coming months) will show that project shifting from Red to Amber/Red – and we expect that to further improve.

'Since the previous Major Projects Report, progress has been made on key anchor projects. That includes the opening of the Margaret Mahy Family Playground, the appointment of the design team for the Metro Sports Facility, and constructive negotiations for the Convention Centre Precinct,” Mr English says.

The report can be viewed here: http://www.treasury.govt.nz/statesector/investmentmanagement/publications/majorprojects

SOURCE: Office of Bill English