The New Zealand government has set up a new taskforce to help the building and construction industry deal with supply chain risks, which have caused delivery delays nationwide over the past few COVID years, said Minister of Building and Construction Megan Woods.
The Critical Materials Taskforce will bring together industry experts to watch for supply chain risks in the industry. This includes sector leaders from the government's Plasterboard Taskforce, set up in June 2022, and has been reshaped to incorporate experts covering smaller operations, design, consenting, products and procurement, Woods said.
The new entity "can identify emerging risks and respond as quickly as possible," she said.
Between January and October 2022, there was a 444 percent increase in the amount of plasterboard imported into New Zealand, and a total of 4.6 million square meters of plasterboard and plaster-related products were imported into the country during this period, enough to build more than 9,000 homes, the minister said.
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