A row has erupted over Sydney’s Northside Storage tunnel after a recent Auditor-General’s report showed costs on the scheme had ballooned from US$93.1 to US$245.8M and are still rising.
Liberal party opposition spokesman John Brogden attacked Kim Yeadon, the minister responsible for Sydney Water, for what Mr Brogden called “ongoing mismanagement” of the project.
Mr Brogden said: “In 1997 the Carr government promised the Northside Storage tunnel would cost US$152.6M. This increased to US$157.9M in 1998, US$226.3M in 1999 and US$237.3M in 2000. Now, at the end of 2001, we are told the tunnel has cost US$245.8M and rising. Where will it end? The Auditor-General’s report indicated that final costs are unknown as some assets need to be sold and insurance claims finalised”.
These assets include the tunnel boring machines which a spokesman for Mr Yeadon said would reduce the overall cost of the scheme.
But Mr Brogden added that the US$245.7M so far spent on the tunnel was more than the US$240M Sydney Water spent on infrastructure projects across the entire Sydney, Blue Mountains and Illawarra regions in 2001.
Apart from budget busting cost escalation, the storage tunnel is also more than a year late.
The Auditor-General, in his report, said the tunnel has still not been formally commissioned.
Mr Yeadon’s spokesman said the tunnel has been operating since the Sydney Olympics two years ago.
He said: “The Northside Storage tunnel has already proven its worth because 3bn litres of sewage has been collected during its commissioning phases.” The Northside Storage tunnel includes 20km of tunnels driven mostly by four TBMs. A special ‘alliance’ was set up for the project consisting of project owner, Sydney Water, consultants Connell Wagner and Montgomery Watson and contractor Transfield.
