Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
ACT will use private partnerships to build road infrastructure if the party gets into government at the next election.
The party released its transport policy in Christchurch today.
Leader David Seymour said New Zealand roads were in a woeful state, because building new roads relied on excise tax for funding and government debt for financing.
ACT would set 30 year infrastructure plans between the government and councils in each region, Seymour said.
If the government could not afford a road, then investors and builders from around the world would be invited to build it and charge a toll on it for a specified period, before it was handed back to the government.
"Anyone who has experienced the state of New Zealand's roads lately knows that the current system of relying on the government to maintain them with your taxes isn't working," Seymour said.
Projects all over New Zealand could be built sooner using the private to public model, he said.
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"New Zealand's road network is straining under the weight of population growth. Congestion costs us billions of dollars each year and the number of potholes is growing quicker than they can be repaired," Seymour said.
"ACT is proposing to introduce a world-class toll roading system. It will use private sector financing and expertise to get new roads built faster and to maintain existing roads quicker and more effectively."
Existing toll roads had decreased distances travelled and drive times and had improved safety outcomes, ACT Transport spokesperson Simon Court said.
"The Northern Gateway has saved 1.23 million hours of travel time annually, and prior to the Tauranga Eastern Link there were 1.8 fatalities each year, compared to only 0.17 now," Court said.
"New Zealand can't afford not to have more infrastructure like this."
In Ireland, 35 percent of the motorway network is now operated by public-private partnerships, Court said.