New Zealand continues to be very highly ranked in international surveys for liveability, to do business, and as a nice place to live – such as the ‘safest country in the world‘ ranking this blog noted in 2013
The latest is the HSBC Expat Survey which was reported in the New Zealand Herald today. The HSBC survey ranks New Zealand as the best place in the world to raise a child, which is very good news.
These rankings continue to be important for New Zealand infrastructure managers to note.
Predicting future demand, and demand management strategies are an important part of infrastructure management.
The high rankings that New Zealand attracts from independent surveys will continue to drive immigrant growth, and subsequent requirements for infrastructure investment and growth, particularly in the Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty ‘golden triangle’.
Demand predictions influence infrastructure capital and renewal expenditure predictions, and depending on the nature of the growth, can influence the timing and phasing of capital and renewals.
For New Zealand infrastructure managers it is worth noting that there are strong underlying drivers which will continue to see immigrants coming to New Zealand, and expatriates returning to New Zealand. This is the trend that has been seen in the past 12 months, that has resulted in the current high immigration growth.
This growth will only be restricted by government immigration policy. Responses to the predicted growth should be noted in Asset Management Plans.
New Zealand being ranked for expats as the ‘best place in the world to raise a child’ is a very nice accolade – managing our infrastructure growth and replacement well help with ensuring that New Zealand continues to do well in these international surveys.
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