Speaking after his state of the city address, Auckland Mayor Len Brown said the Auckland council would be ready to announce a Public Private Partnership to build the SkyPath project within the next two weeks.

The SkyPath project is a cycleway and walkway across Auckland's harbour bridge, stretching from St Heliers to Devonport.

The cost of the project is estimated to be NZ$33 million (US$27.5 million), Brown said. He also said users would pay NZ$1 or NZ$2 to use the SkyPath.

There had been "significant interest" from parties wanting to partner with the council to fund the SkyPath, Auckland's first public-private partnership (PPP), Brown also said.

Mayor Brown has made several announcements during the last two years stating his willingness to develop a PPP program for the city of Auckland. He advocates that PPPs would drive growth and progress transport developments in Auckland.

In his own words, "we don't have the balance sheet and we need to attract money from private firms".

The City Rail Link (CRL) project, which was approved by the national Government last year, could also be funded through a PPP, he said.

The CRL project, estimated at NZ$2.86 billion (US$2.38 billion), is proposed to start construction in 2020. However, Mayor Brown wants to accelerate as a PPP and start construction in 2016 and finish by 2021.