A project transforming how infrastructure assets are managed in Aotearoa has taken the top honour at the 2026 Āpōpō Asset Management Excellence Awards.
GHD Group NZ was awarded the Supreme Asset Management Excellence Award for a data-led approach developed with Tauranga City Council that is changing how infrastructure decisions are made – helping organisations reduce delays, improve maintenance, and get more value from existing assets.
The project centres on the ‘Wedge Model’, which focusses on capability handover from consultant to client over time building their Information Management Processes resulting in tangible outcomes such as 80% of asset data captured during the design phase.
“Receiving Kōmata o Te Rangi alongside our partners at Tauranga City Council is a profound honour. This work was never about a single project. It was about shifting how infrastructure owners engage with their own asset information, giving them the standards, processes, and capability to lead their supply chains rather than follow them. When clients own that role, the whole industry benefits,” said Executive Advisor Digital and RM for NZTA, GHD, Theresa Wells.
“We hope this recognition inspires more organisations across New Zealand to take that step, because the data foundations we build today are what will make the next generation of infrastructure management possible.”
Held last week in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, the awards recognised five category winners whose work is advancing more sustainable, innovative, and community-focused approaches to managing infrastructure across Aotearoa.
“These awards shine a light on the work that keeps our communities running every day. Too often, attention falls on infrastructure failures, but across Aotearoa there are highly skilled professionals delivering smart, sustainable solutions that create real value – and that deserves recognition,” says Āpōpō CE, Murray Pugh.
Category Winners:
- Sustainability Award: Takitimu North Link ‘planting not placing’ innovation – Fulton Hogan;
- Community Award: Tararua Road Resilience and Land Stability Project – Tararua Alliance;
- Improvement Award: Higgins Asset Auditing Module – Higgins Contractors Ltd;
- Innovation Award: Building the Foundation: Systematic Data Integration for Asset Management Maturity – GHD Group NZ;
- Leadership Award: NIK – Ngā Iti Kahurangi – Ministry of Education.
Selected from the category winners, the supreme winner becomes kaitiaki (guardian) of the taonga Kōmata o Te Rangi – a carved taurapa symbolising the pinnacle of achievement in asset management.
“Good asset management has never been more important. By celebrating excellence, we’re not just recognising success – we are setting the standard for what good looks like and giving the sector, and the country, confidence in the future of infrastructure,” said Mr Pugh.
