Introduction
At Practical Completion, assets constructed or procured by CRL Ltd will be passed on to other parties (primarily Auckland Transport and KiwiRail Holdings Ltd) at the direction of the Sponsors. The Project will then enter a two-year defects liability period where the Link Alliance will remediate any defects in assets they have delivered.
Upon transfer of assets, the new owners will finalise their preparations for the Opening Day for passenger services on the City Rail Link.
Asset Completion and Transfers
As a special purpose vehicle established solely to deliver the City Rail Link Project, CRL Ltd will not own, operate, or maintain assets which are completed and delivered under the various Project contracts.
Instead, the Sponsors have directed for all assets to be handed over to the ultimate asset owners, which will primarily be KiwiRail Holdings Ltd and Auckland Transport.
The majority of infrastructure assets will be handed over at Practical Completion of C3. CRL Ltd has already transferred assets, including most of the early works contracts: C6, the Ōtāhuhu, Strand portions of C8, C1 station works at Waitematā, C2 urban realm, and the NAL Down Main and Newmarket and Up Main to five different asset recipients.
To achieve transfer of an asset, all documentation relating to that asset must be provided to the ultimate asset recipient to assist with the future operation and management of that asset. Documentation may include, for example, design drawings, operation and management manuals, contractor completion certificates, product and workmanship guarantees, and safety assurance reports.
Early transfer is beneficial to the ultimate asset owner because they are able to access, utilise, and operate the asset sooner, rather than waiting for Practical Completion of C3.
For the contractor, early transfer acts as formal recognition that the works are complete (except for minor “snagging” defects). The contractor is relieved of maintenance and insurance obligations, and the relevant defect liability period commences. Depending on the contract and complexity of the works, the defects liability period can be anywhere from 12 to 24 months. Over this period, the contractor is obligated to remedy defects identified by the asset owner.
In addition to handing over all built and completed assets, any land and designations held by or for CRL Ltd must be transferred. CRL Ltd is currently undertaking a comprehensive land survey programme that is unprecedented in New Zealand in terms of scale and complexity. The Company is collaborating with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) throughout the process to ensure the integrity of ownership and to protect the stations and tunnel infrastructure as well as the subsoil surrounding the infrastructure. This collaboration has allowed CRL Ltd and LINZ to explore survey innovations which will be helpful to the wider infrastructure industry going forward.