Covid construction ban in greater Sydney set to cost $1 billion a week

Shutting down construction across Sydney will cost an estimated $1 billion a week, and tradies fear it will take months or years to build their businesses back up.

The shutdown of construction businesses will cost Sydney between $800 million and $1 billion a week, according to modelling produced by the state’s peak business body.

From tomorrow, all construction in greater Sydney will stop, with the ­exception of urgent repairs and emergency construction.

Business NSW estimates the city has already lost $1 billion a week for the past three weeks while hoteliers, retailers and tourism operators have been forced to cease trading.

With tradies the latest forced to down tools, the economic loss is projected to double and some workers will lose their jobs, according to Business NSW CEO Daniel Hunter.

“Ceasing construction projects and non-essential trades will cost people their jobs and livelihoods,” Mr Hunter said.

“There’s no sugar-coating it, some small businesses won’t recover.

“All tradies will have their income cut off for a minimum two-week ­period. They will be eligible for some of the support packages but that won’t replace all the lost revenue.”

Construction workers will have ­access to payments up to $600 a week and businesses can access cashflow boosts worth between $1500 to $10,000 a week to cover 40 per cent of their payroll payments under the lockdown rescue package announced on Wednesday.

Braden Carter, pictured with dog Nala, is worried about the long-term financial effects of the lockdown on his business. Picture: Tim Hunter

“Everybody across the state is entitled to those emergency payments,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian told ­reporters yesterday.

“Please know that safety net is there, that’s why we fought so hard, because we knew that if we did ever need to make decisions in relation to health issues that we would have that economic package so that businesses and individuals don’t need to stress about having cashflow come in.”

But builders who have so far been spared the pain of lockdowns were yesterday reading up on what financial support they were entitled and how to claim it, while fielding calls from workers worried about paying their mortgages and feeding their families.

Northern beaches builder Braden Carter, 37, will spend today tying down tarps on half-finished builds to prevent water damage while his business is mothballed.

“I’ve had messages from my staff asking if they will still get paid,” Mr Carter said.

“I can personally get by without a wage for two weeks but it will kill my business if we don’t have financial help from the government (to cover) three guys asking for two weeks worth of wages.”

Solar panel installation business ­director Matthew Cox, 35, has already scrapped plans to hire new workers.

Mr Cox feared the shutdown would have a chilling effect, where ­clients would cancel orders rather than postpone them.

After last year’s lockdown, inquiries for new solar panels took five months to recover.

“I expect there will be clients that cancel or postpone indefinitely until they feel comfortable to spend on their properties again,” Mr Cox said.

“We were trying to plan for the ­future and put on a couple of extra staff pretty soon but that will definitely be put on hold.”