State Square underground car park project about $7 million over original budget

The cost of building Darwin’s State Square underground carpark blew out by $7.3m more than originally estimated, bringing the official price tag to a whopping $26.7m.

The new underground car park near parliament cost about $26.7m in total

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THE cost of building Darwin’s State Square underground carpark blew out by $7.3m more than originally estimated, bringing the official price tag to a whopping $26.7m.

Infrastructure and Planning Department bureaucrats, during budget estimates late on Tuesday night, revealed the cost blowout had to do with unexpected asbestos remediation and landscaping works.

Fixing the asbestos issue cost $2.7m, and another portion of money went towards landscaping the roof of the car park.

DIPL general manager Andrew Cohen said the contract had been awarded to a Territory company while the government was in the middle of creating a masterplan for the entire State Square site.

“We weren’t clear at the time that the tender … should deliver that landscaping work because we were still masterplanning that State Square site,” he said.

Landscaping plans were completed “in time” for the department to conclude the contractor, Tomazos, would be best placed to deliver the rest of the work.

DIPL building services executive director John Harrison said the landscaping was a “significant” piece of work as material had be brought in to build up the height of the garden without adding the weight of soil.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the government had failed to come clean on the cost blowout prior to the election: “The Gunner government has an appalling record on infrastructure development … and major cost blowouts,” she said. “Just hundreds of metres away from the carpark is the Cavenagh Street shade structure, which doesn’t provide any shade and the Minister thinks it looks great as it is.”

An artists impression for the green space above the new underground carpark. Supplied

The Darwin's State Square Underground Car Park was initially tendered for $19 million

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