Finance Minister Steven Joyce says the long-awaited Waterview Tunnel will be opening "in the next couple of weeks".
The comments came at a post-Budget breakfast on Friday morning in Auckland, while talking about road funding.
"Waterview's going to open in the next couple of weeks - that's going to make a massive difference to anybody coming from the north and west and also from the city," he said.
"It's been a little bit frustrating they haven't quite been able to organise their IT systems to let us all in there. But apparently they've nearly done that."
Speaking to media after the event Mr Joyce said: "I'm waiting for NZTA to give us a final date."
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) told Newshub problems found during the testing phase have now been resolved and a full system test is now underway.
"Precise timeframes are dependent on this work," spokesperson Sarah Azam said.
"It's important to remember the testing and commissioning has worked exactly as it's designed to do. It has picked up a potential issue before opening and steps are now being taken to fix this to ensure the tunnel operates as expected when it opens.
"The Waterview Connection has been in construction for five years and while this delay is disappointing, short delays like this are not uncommon for such a large-scale and complex construction programme."
In early May, NZTA Auckland highway manager Brett Gliddon told The AM Show rumours of shoddy concrete and a ventilation tower collapse were wrong.
Newshub.
