Sydney’s disastrous light rail project is now running a whole year behind schedule, with a Spanish contractor slowing down work and holding the city to ransom.
The $2billion dollar project – scheduled to open in March next year – will not be running until 2020, Transport Minister Andrew Constance confirmed.
Running up George Street from Circular Quay through Central to Randwick, the project has paralysed what was once the city’s busiest thoroughfare.
Sydney’s disastrous light rail project is now running a whole year behind schedule, with a Spanish contractor refusing to work and holding the city to ransom (pictured is the light rail project)
The $2billion dollar project – scheduled to open in March next year – will not be running until 2020, Transport Minister Andrew Constance confirmed (pictured is the light rail project)
Mr Constance has cast the blame for the fiasco squarely on Spanish sub-contractor Acciona, which is locked in a legal battle with the New South Wales Government
The consortium responsible for delivering the bungled project, ALTRAC, told the government it is now running a year late, ABC News reported.
Mr Constance has cast the blame for the fiasco squarely on Spanish sub-contractor Acciona, which is demanding $1.2billion from the New South Wales Government.
He accused Acciona of deliberating delaying work on the project while they demand compensation in the NSW Supreme Court.
‘We will ensure as best as possible that they ramp up their activity – they are on a “go slow”, anyone walking the city can quite clearly see,’ Mr Constance said.
Running up George Street from Circular Quay through Central to Randwick, the project has paralysed what was once the city’s busiest thoroughfare (pictured is the light rail project)
The consortium responsible for delivering the bungled project, ALTRAC, told the government it is now running a year late (pictured is the light rail project)
‘They have construction zones where there is no workforce on the ground doing the work.’
The Transport Minister’s comments were supported by workers on the project, who have dobbed in Acciona to the government.
‘We were constantly asked to slow down our works,’ one employee said, The Daily Telegraph reported.
There have also been claims of ‘constant delays on material and equipment deliberately done by our supervisors’.
NSW Labor deputy leader Michael Daley said the government shares responsibility for the project’s delays.
‘They are going slow in this project because things are seriously wrong and they have been wrong from day one,’ he said.
The Transport Minister’s comments were supported by workers on the project, who have dobbed in Acciona to the government (pictured is the light rail project)
NSW Labor deputy leader Michael Daley said the government shares responsibility for the project’s delays (pictured is the light rail project)
‘The planning wasn’t done properly.’
Mr Constance disagreed: ‘ALTRAC and Acciona need to meet the requirements of the contract, and the NSW government will not be held to ransom,’ he said.
Acciona has filed Supreme Court proceedings against Transport for NSW, accusing them of ‘misleading and deceptive’ conduct.
The Spanish sub-contractor is seeking $1.2billion in compensation, claiming they entered into the contract under a ‘false premise’.
Mr Constance (pictured) disagreed: ‘ALTRAC and Acciona need to meet the requirements of the contract, and the NSW government will not be held to ransom,’ he said