Lendlease’s contract to build Sydney Football Stadium cancelled
The Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment has been thrown into disarray after the NSW government cancelled builder Lendlease’s construction contract.
The Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment has been thrown into disarray after the NSW government abandoned its builder Lendlease due to budget constraints.
Sports Minister John Sidoti last night said the government was now searching for a new contractor who could build the stadium by 2022 within the strict $729 million budget.
Lendlease has almost completed stage one of the redevelopment, which involves the demolition of the old stadium at the Moore Park site.
Stage two of the contract is the construction phase, with Mr Sidoti saying Lendlease’s offer did not meet the government’s financial expectations.
“The project budget for Sydney Football Stadium is $729 million which includes stage one and stage two works,” he said.
“Lendlease’s stage two offer did not meet the government’s expectations so we are looking for another builder in a competitive market.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian promised the people of NSW could “have it all” during this year’s election campaign, which included $2 billion to be spent on Sydney stadiums.
The government has already spent $360 million on Bankwest Stadium at Parramatta, is pledging $810 million to redevelop ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park, and will need the new builder of Sydney Football Stadium to construct it at a bargain price to prevent a cost blowout.
Last December former sports minister Stuart Ayres announced Lendlease as the “construction contractor” for the entire Sydney Football Stadium development, beating rival builder Multiplex to the contract.
At the time Mr Ayres said Lendlease would demolish and rebuild the stadium for $729 million, with stage two of the approvals process expected to be finalised this year.
It’s now understood Lendlease only ever signed a contract for stage one of the development, with the developer being told by the government that it needed to cut costs for its stage two proposal.
The bold decision by the government to abandon Lendlease means once the demolition is finished the stadium site will lie dormant until a new contractor can be found.
A Lendlease spokesman declined to comment on the shock decision last night but said the company was looking forward to working with the government again on future projects.
Opposition sport spokeswoman Lynda Voltz said the contract dispute shows Ms Berejiklian was losing control of her government.
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