The giant Korean ship builder Hyundai could be back in the running to build two new Cook Strait ferries, following a meeting between the company and Rail Minister Winston Peters in Seoul on Friday.
The government last year cancelled an order with Hyundai to build two mega ferries, citing a $3 billion cost blowout associated with the ferries and the required port upgrades.
Peters as new Rail Minister has since embarked on a world-wide tender to find by the end of March a builder for two cheaper and smaller rail-enabled ferries, and have them running by 2029.
He said Hyundai was open to considering bidding to build the new smaller ferries and had indicated it could meet the size specifications involved in that.
"I've got a serious contender back in the ring of potential contenders for the tender for two replacement ferries for the Cook Strait."
Peters meets Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae Yul in Seoul. Photo: RNZ/Corin Dann
Peters who is in Korea for talks with the Korean Foreign Affairs Minister, said it made sense to also visit Hyundai given they were the biggest ship builders in the world.
It seems unlikely however the government can escape a costly multi-million dollar break fee KiwiRail is thought to be in negotiation with Hyundai for, after cancelling the mega ferry deal signed in 2021.
When asked by RNZ what would happen to the break fee negotiations should Hyundai build two new smaller ships, Peters said that was a decision made by the last government and KiwiRail and has to play out separately.
When also asked why Hyundai wanted to bid again having been burned by New Zealand before, Peters said "Hyundai understand the vagaries of politics as much as anybody else and we had a marvellous conversation".
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