en.Wedoany.com Reported - A photography exhibition offers a glimpse into the massive Central Interceptor tunnel project being built beneath Auckland. Hosted by Watercare, the exhibition features works by photographer Simon Runting, who has documented the entire construction phase of the 16.2-kilometer wastewater tunnel and two connecting sewers since the project began in 2019.
As part of the Auckland Festival of Photography, the exhibition displays 30 large-format images on the hoardings of the Point Erin construction site, along with a complete online gallery. Runting said he photographed the project from start to finish, including the first dawn blessing at the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant before construction began, hoping the images would give people an understanding of the project's immense scale for Watercare and the Ghella Abergeldie Joint Venture, as the tunnel will never be seen again once it becomes operational.
Watercare CEO Jamie Sinclair said the photos provide an inside look at this once-in-a-century infrastructure, capturing the people, scale, engineering, and the culture and spirit behind its successful delivery. The tunnel, costing NZ$1.66 billion (approximately €840 million), will be fully operational this year.
The Central Interceptor is New Zealand's largest wastewater project, aimed at improving the health of waterways and beaches in central and western suburbs by reducing wet-weather overflows. The 16.2-kilometer tunnel from Point Erin in Herne Bay to the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant is now complete, with two connecting sewers capturing wastewater flows from Blockhouse Bay, Avondale, Mt Roskill, and Mt Albert.
The southern half of the tunnel has been in operation since early 2025, and as of March 2026, it has prevented approximately 450,000 cubic meters of mixed sewage and stormwater from overflowing into the environment. The northern half of the tunnel is expected to become operational this year, and the full environmental benefits of the project will be realized when the related Herne Bay Collector project is completed by the end of 2028. The Herne Bay Collector is a 1.7-kilometer-long, 2.1-meter-diameter tunnel with seven main shafts and three intermediate shafts, connecting to network infrastructure to improve water quality in Waitematā Harbour and surrounding coastal areas.
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