Opal Tower builder Icon Construction blames engineer WSP Structures

The builder of Sydney’s ill-starred Opal Tower has gone to court to throw blame back on the project’s engineers.

Opal Tower builder Icon is blaming engineer WSP for the problems that forced the building to be abandoned this year. Picture: John Appleyard

The builder of Sydney’s cracked Opal Tower has blamed engineer WSP Structures for the building’s structural failings.

Icon Construction lodged documents in the Supreme Court of NSW on Tuesday that assert the events at Opal Tower last year resulted from design failures by the structural design engineer.

The builder claims WSP Structures prepared and approved all relevant structural designs and Icon completed construction based on what was provided.

WSP Structures declined to comment on the development.

The documents are counter to a class action launched in July by the apartment owners within the 392-unit building. The lawsuit against the NSW government-controlled entity, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, is claiming for a breach of the warranties under the Home Building Act. SOPA is the owner of the land in Western Sydney where the Opal Tower was built.

Supreme Court documents show Icon alleges WSP engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct against Australian consumer law set out in schedule two of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

The builder is seeking reimbursement for the more than $30m it has spent on rectification works since the incident occurred. The work will be completed in early 2020.

Residents of the tower in Sydney’s west were evacuated on Christmas Eve last year after significant cracking appeared in a precast concrete panel on the tower’s 10th floor. Damage was later found on the fourth and 16th floors.

Icon’s managing director, Nicholas Brown, described the decision as an important step in the class-action process.

“While providing support to residents and apartment owners remains our priority, from day one we have been determined to find out what happened and why so we can prevent a similar event occurring in the future,” Mr Brown said.

“While it won’t undo what happened, today’s developments are an important step forward for Opal tenants and owners, our business and employees. We will continue to work towards the return of the residents back into the remaining apartments at Opal Tower.”

The class action is looking to seek compensation from SOPA for alternative accommodations and relocation costs, loss of rent and past and future rectification costs. Earlier this year, Bassam Aflak, the founder of the building’s developer Ecove, said the problem was an “isolated issue” that did not cast a cloud over the builder.