Deadline for hiring new Sydney Football Stadium builder to be missed
The Berejiklian government will miss its own deadline for hiring a new builder to construct the Sydney Football Stadium, as it is still negotiating with two bidders for the $729 million project at Moore Park.
Construction giants Multiplex and John Holland are both vying for the contract, with the government expected to announce the successful company in "coming weeks".
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in August the government had "until November" to appoint a new builder for the stadium after Lendlease pulled out because it was unable to complete it within the allocated budget.
But this week Infrastructure NSW, the agency overseeing the project, confirmed the government was still "in negotiations with builders" for the "stage two" contract to build the new stadium.
"A final decision to award the contract has not been made by government, but is expected in the coming weeks," a spokeswoman said.
The opposition seized on the missed deadline, with Labor leader Jodi McKay urging the Premier to "tell the truth about whether her stadium will be on time and on budget".
"Budget overruns on the Liberals' major infrastructure projects means less money for other services," Ms McKay said.
"The state government's bucket of money is emptying faster than it can fill it. We can't afford another budget blowout."
The decision to knock down and rebuild the Sydney Football Stadium, also known as Allianz Stadium, at a cost of $729 million has been a long-running source of controversy for the Berejiklian government, amid considerable backlash from community groups as well as Labor and the Greens.
It became a key issue in the March state election,
with Labor opposing the stadium's demolition and vowing, if elected, to redirect the funding towards schools and hospitals.
The government proceeded with the demolition during the final weeks of the election campaign, after a last-minute legal bid by a community group to halt the process was rejected by the NSW Land and Environment Court.
The project was thrown into disarray in July, when then-sports minister John Sidoti revealed the government had been forced to reopen the tender process because "Lendlease's stage two offer did not meet the government's expectations".
At the time, he said he remained "very confident" the project would be completed on time and on budget.
Ms Berejiklian also said the project remained on track.
"We have until November to secure the next bidder and I am confident that will happen way before that time to ensure the project is delivered in the first bit of 2022 which is the deadline we have given ourselves," Ms Berejiklian said in August.
In July,
the government said it had costed the demolition, or "stage one", at $36.3 million, leaving nearly $693 million of the project's estimated $729 million overall cost for the "stage two" rebuild.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw...ium-builder-to-be-missed-20191129-p53fde.html
