A 20-hectare area of Sydney’s Darling Harbour is slated to be transformed by a consortium headed by Lend Lease.
Documents have just been signed with the NSW government giving the go-ahead to start this new development.
The Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Andrew Stoner, has stated that the consortium will design and construct what is bound to be Australia’s largest and fully integrated entertainment, exhibition, and convention precinct in Darling Harbour.
This has been confirmed under a Public Private Partnership agreement. The consortium in question includes Lend Lease, Capella Capital, Spotless and AEG Ogden, and is entitled Darling Harbour Live.
The agreement has been completed with Infrastructure New South Wales working on behalf of the NSW government, along with the government agency known as Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, or SHFA.
SHFA will remain the landlord of this precinct during and after construction has been completed. This agreement gives the consortium the right to design, finance, construct, and maintain a new array of convention, entertainment, and exhibition facilities.
The project site runs north-south from Cockle Bay through to Haymarket, and east-west from the CBD to Ultimo.
It is generally bounded by the light rail line to the west, Harbourside Shopping Centre and Cockle Bay to the north, Darling Quarter, the Chinese Garden of Friendship and Harbour Street to the east, and Hay Street to the south.
Darling Harbour Master Plan
What is the projected cost of this dynamic project? It will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1 billion.
In addition to the conference, entertainment, and exhibition facilities there have been two further Project Development Agreements signed with Lend Lease.
These give permission to construct a 900-room hotel in the northern area of the precinct, along with a new urban neighbourhood in the southern Haymarket area.
The value of these additional projects has been estimated by the company to be approximately $1.5 billion.
Image Source: Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct
Though agreements have been executed, they are still pending until the appropriate relevant approvals have been obtained. Steve McCann, the chief executive officer of Lend Lease, has stated his pleasure at having completed this first step by executing agreements with SHFA and Infrastructure NSW.
This project is described as a once in a generation opportunity for Sydney, with Lend Lease open to any input or comments from the citizens of Sydney throughout the planning process.
The construction phase alone of this massive project is expected to create around 1,600 local jobs, with an additional 4,000 jobs created in the precinct after construction is complete.
Although the project is currently still in the design and planning stages, construction is expected to begin in January 2014 and last for a duration of three years.
This contract is the first PPP agreement reached in NSW since 2008, with previous agreements abandoned due to less than desirable outcomes on other projects.
Treasurer Mike Baird has described projects such as Lane Cove Tunnel and Cross City Tunnel to be “questionable,” but has indicated that the city may be able to make even greater use of this model as the government plans new projects for its 30-year infrastructure improvement plan.
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