Article: Infrastructure work costs soar up to 950 per cent

[ozbob]

From the Sunday Mail click here!

Infrastructure work costs soar up to 950 per cent

Infrastructure work costs soar up to 950 per cent
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

By Darrell Giles

October 03, 2009 11:00pm

SOME of Queensland's major transport projects could be put on the scrapheap after crippling cost blowouts, says the State Opposition.

The Liberal National Party will table documents in Parliament this week revealing the budgets of several major works have rocketed by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Opposition transport and main roads spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said

one of the worst examples in the SEQ Infrastructure Plan and Program was the cost of a four-lane section of the Cunningham Highway going up from $90 million to $950 million.

The completion date for the Yamanto to Ebenezer section had been put back from 2014-15 to 2018-19. She said other projects had increased between 250 and 950 per cent and in some cases the completion dates were delayed by more than a decade.

"There are some very significant escalations," Ms Simpson said.

"The SEQ Infrastructure Plan and Program has become an aspirational statement rather than a guide to what work will be happening in the state.

"It has morphed into a document which has got little or no ties to reality."

Ms Simpson said she understood costs would go up each year ? but taxpayers would not understand why some had increased almost tenfold.

"The Ipswich Motorway has blown its budget by almost $1 billion and the Logan Motorway intersection finished $95 million over budget," she said.

"The Labor Government's contribution to the Airport Link has come in $220 million above its initial prediction and the $543 million Tugun bypass blew the budget by $386 million. It's no wonder Queensland is sinking into an $85 billion debt . . . Anyone in the private sector making these kind of planning mistakes would be out of a job."

Ms Simpson said the newly opened Bundaberg Ring Rd ? which was not part of the plan ? had an initial budget of $42 million. However, within one year it had blown out by $50 million.

"It ended up costing taxpayers $100 million," she said.

Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said Ms Simpson could not tell the difference between a budget blowout and price escalation.

"Anyone involved in the industry will tell you that the cost of something in 2005 is different to the cost in 2009," he said.

The minister said the Government had decided to update the plan with 2009 costs and they had, not surprisingly, risen sharply.

He said construction costs in general had increased 12 per cent per year since 2005, while items such as steel and concrete had gone up 15 per cent per year.

Mr Hinchliffe said some of the projects listed in 2005 might have been just a basic plan ? a road four years ago had now become a tunnel ? and the extra detail had added to the estimate.

"Of course the Government can afford these projects. We are committing significant resources to ensure we deliver on our major road-building program," he said.

A $422 million upgrade to the Pacific Motorway ? between Springwood and Daisy Hill ? that was supposed to be fast-tracked as part of the Rudd Government's stimulus program was now more than six months behind schedule.

[#Metro]

Why?

The cost of a project isn't known for certain, until it is finished. Prices for things will go up and down during its construction (unless a fixed price is agreed upon at the start).

I find this article strange. There should be lots of people looking for work (given the GFC) and prices for things should be low, as construction and the like has apparently been one of the areas hit.

[Jon Bryant]

Again whilst the cost is one thing it is not the real debate that needs to be had.  It is the outcome of the investment that matters.  All the roads projects that are now costing billions will only encourge more and more motor vehicle usage.  Thus they provide little value for the billions invested. 

When are our politican going to wake up to this reality and stop fighting over who can build the wrong infrastructure the best or cheapest.

Blinkers off!!!!