Four positions advertised to replace engineers who have left

THE Spanish consortium building Sydney’s light rail is desperately seeking to replace senior engineers who have walked away from the project.

THE Spanish consortium building Sydney’s light rail is desperately seeking to replace senior engineers who have walked away from the project.

ALTRAC has confirmed that four positions advertised by subcontractor Acciona were “to replace engineers who have left the project”.

The ads are for a civil site engineer, civil project engineer, senior project engineer and a procurement officer.

Vast swathes of the light rail project lie unfinished, this one at the corner of Ultimo Rd and George St. Picture: Damian Hofman

The listing for the senior project engineer states that the candidate must “maintain project­ schedule by monitoring project progress” and hold “at least 8 years’ experience in infrastructure construction delivering major projects”.

The civil project engineer position also demands “at least 6 years post-grad experience in civil construction” while the civil site engineer job requires 2-5 years’ experience.

A worker checks his phone at the corner of Market St and George St. Picture: Simon Bullard

The track appears fully laid in a part of George St, Sydney. Picture: Simon Bullard

Trams are now not expected to be operational until March 2020 — a full year after the original delivery date.

An ALTRAC spokeswoman said it was “not uncommon on large-scale ... projects for there to be some turnover”.

Sydney light rail map. Source: http://sydneylightrail.transport.nsw.gov.au/map

“With a large number of ­infrastructure projects under way or about to commence around Australia, it is an exciting time for engineers who can gain experience across a variety­ of projects,” she said, adding Acciona currently had 174 engineering staff working on the light rail project.

Transport for NSW said it expected that ALTRAC “will ensure its contractors have an adequate number of workers on site to safely progress the works to meet its contractual obligations”.

The Daily Telegraph this week revealed Acciona had launched a star-studded global campaign urging governments, companies and consumers to “invest in the planet”.

All quiet on the George St construction area near the Hilton Hotel. Picture: Damian Hofman

Similarly quiet on works near Alison Rd and Darley Rd, Randwick. Picture: Bill Hearne

The NSW government criticised Acciona’s new campaign, which is being led by Aussie heart-throb Liam Hemsworth, saying the company should “just get on with it like most reputable contractors do”.

Acciona, a Spain-based renewable energy and infrastructure group, is a member of the ALTRAC consortium building and operating the 12km light-rail project, to run from the CBD to the southeastern suburbs.

MORE

LIGHT RAIL : Acciona pulled from Queensland project over safety

LIGHT RAIL : Transport NSW fines Acciona $500,000 a day

LIGHT RAIL : Transport NSW was ‘deceptive’ when signing contracts

LIGHT RAIL: ‘Horror story’ of cost overruns and missed deadlines