An industrial lines insurer will continue to provide insurance coverage for a $1.4 billion tunnel construction project in Auckland.
Since the project launched in mid-2012,
HDI Global SE lead has led the insurance consortium on the “Waterway Connection” road construction project, which saw to the construction of the longest road tunnels in New Zealand, at 2.4 kilometres.
The twin tunnels and road interchange, forming part of a second motorway route through NZ’s largest city, was inaugurated at the beginning of July, and is expected to serve some 90,000 motor vehicles daily.
The project was initially commissioned by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and was later delivered by Well-Connected Alliance, which comprised of the NZTA and NZ engineering companies, including Fletcher Construction and McConnel Dowell Constructors.
Since the project launch, HDI Global has been providing the group with comprehensive protection in the form of a Construction All Risk policy against all engineering risks, as well as damage caused by an accident, fire, or natural hazards. The $52 million tunnel boring machine (TBM), meanwhile, was covered by a separate Plant and Machinery policy.
The insurance protection provided by HDI Global will remain in place for another two years after completion, by including an extended warranty clause which covers defects in construction, design or materials that may have occurred during the construction phase on the project site, but which only manifests after project completion.
“This could be the case, for instance, if an appreciable quantity of water were to penetrate the tunnel after protracted heavy rainfall – for example because the lining used to seal the tunnel was accidentally perforated during installation,” said Rolf Heyke, underwriting manager, engineering for Australasia who under-wrote the transportation project with support from his colleagues in Germany.
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