The Tararua Alliances Route 52 project has been nominated by Āpōpo in the 2026 International Federation of Municipal Engineering (IFME) awards, to be held in Helsinki, Finland in June next year.

Tararua Alliance's Route 52 project won the 2025 Āpōpo Community and prestigious Supreme Asset Management Excellence Awards earlier this year recognising their achievements.

By global standards, the project was of a modest scale, but despite this, the Route 52 project has been nominated by Āpōpo to represent New Zealand and demonstrate that impact is not just about scale but, more importantly, it is about resilience, sustainability, creativity and future-focused solutions that benefits the communities being served. A key factor in the nomination was the projects partnership with iwi and local communities, using local materials and creating jobs for local companies.

Despite the added challenges of Cyclone Gabrielle, the Tararua Alliance and local expertise restored and future-proofed Route 52, ensuring vital connectivity for our rural and coastal communities and accessibility to the Napier port for our farmers and foresters. We look forward to the results of the IFME awards next year and wish the Tararua Alliance the best of luck.