【Text by Observers Network, Wang Yi】On October 14, New Zealand's Minister of Rail Winston Peters confirmed that the New Zealand government has placed an order for the construction of two large ferries with Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

According to a news release issued by the New Zealand government, these two rail and road combination ferries will be 200 meters long, each capable of carrying approximately 1,500 passengers and 40 train carriages. They are expected to be delivered in 2029 to connect the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Peters confirmed that the new ferries will be built by Guangzhou Shipbuilding International, but the specific cost is still under negotiation.

However, Peters emphasized in his statement, "We plan to release a detailed statement by the end of this year explaining the agreement we have reached, as well as how we have saved billions of New Zealand dollars for taxpayers by canceling the iRex project and returning to the practical solution we proposed in May 2020."

New Zealand Minister of Rail Winston Peters Social Media

The New Zealand Post website reported on the 14th that the iRex project, initially led by the previous Labour government, was originally planned to be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard of South Korea, but was canceled by the new government in December 2023 due to serious overspending on port infrastructure costs.

It is known that the iRex project started in 2018, aiming to replace the old ferries that had been used for years between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The project originally planned to purchase two large ferries and renovate the port facilities in Wellington and Picton to accommodate the new ships.

During the construction period, the project cost soared from 775 million New Zealand dollars per ship in 2018 to 1.45 billion New Zealand dollars in 2021. In 2023, the New Zealand Treasury warned that the project's budget could continue to rise to nearly 4 billion New Zealand dollars. After the new government came into power, it refused to provide additional funding and canceled the order with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. In August this year, New Zealand's state-owned railway company KiwiRail reached a settlement with the South Korean company, paying 144 million New Zealand dollars as a settlement for the cancellation of the project.

According to calculations, the compensation of 144 million New Zealand dollars plus the previous payments, the total expenditure of the iReX project is approximately 671 million New Zealand dollars. Money was wasted, but the New Zealand side has not even seen a single ship, only a concept image. Therefore, Peters specifically emphasized in the press release that this purchase will save "billions of New Zealand dollars" for New Zealand taxpayers.

Concept image of the new ship by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, New Zealand state-owned railway company KiwiRail

Peters also praised the shipbuilding capabilities of Chinese enterprises, saying, "We hope to provide New Zealand taxpayers with the best possible deal and capable shipbuilders," and Guangzhou Shipbuilding International is the largest modern integrated shipbuilding enterprise in southern China, established in 1954, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, its capabilities have given "us high confidence in the ferry upgrade plan."

The Post website cited data from the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), stating that China is currently the world's largest shipbuilding country, with shipbuilding volume exceeding the total of all other countries. This has caused the US government to list China State Shipbuilding Corporation and its subsidiaries including Guangzhou Shipbuilding International on the "Chinese military enterprise list" for suppression, restricting investment and stockholding by US funds, but not prohibiting trade with these companies.

The report said that in response to journalists' deliberate questions about national security issues, Peters responded that the New Zealand government would conduct due diligence throughout the process to ensure that it receives the required ships. As for national security issues, "the Chinese side also understands this, they are not stupid," he said.

In response to the US listing of Chinese enterprises on the so-called "Chinese military enterprise list," the Chinese Foreign Ministry previously stated that China firmly opposes the US overgeneralizing the concept of national security, setting up various discriminatory lists, and unjustly suppressing Chinese enterprises, which disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation. China urged the US to immediately correct these discriminatory practices and provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese enterprises to operate. China will continue to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its enterprises.

This article is an exclusive article from Observers Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7561027875017638415/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author. Please express your attitude below using the 【Top/Down】 buttons.