Sydney Covid outbreak puts pressure on Canberra construction

Lockdowns in NSW have already created disruptions for the ACT industry, primarily on sites where specialist skills are brought in, Major Projects Canberra boss Duncan Edghill said.

Mr Edghill said the other big impact was for sites who usually had Sydney contractors both deliver and install their products, since travel exemptions became more difficult to acquire under new rules.

The ACT government tightened its restrictions on workers from Greater Sydney travelling to Canberra last week, in response to a Sydney painter at a site in Goulburn testing positive to COVID-19.

The restriction on movement forced the ACT government to halt its works on the Gungahlin Leisure Centre pool, as the tiling contractor was Sydney-based.

"Without a doubt there are construction sites in Canberra which are experiencing inconvenience as a consequence of what's happening in Sydney," Mr Edghill said.

"Even without Covid we are already operating in a very hot infrastructure market alongside the east coast of Australia."

Major Projects Canberra is overseeing the Canberra Hospital expansion, light rail and the Canberra Institute of Technology campus and public transport interchange at Woden Town Centre.

Mr Edghill said those three major developments were unlikely to be compromised, as the Sydney lockdown was not expected to create material disruptions due to where those particular projects were up to.

In regards to the hospital, Mr Edghill said current design work was not being impeded and neither was demolition work which was being undertaken by locals. The CIT Woden works were also being undertaken with local firms and labourers, Mr Edghill said.

He said the next major activity for the light rail project was to go through Commonwealth works approval application process, slated for late 2021.

ACT Police confirmed it had not issued any fines from NSW construction workers travelling to Canberra on Monday, day one of Sydney's construction halt.

Sydney-based planning consultant Barwon Investment partner were due to start work on the Canberra Clinic and Deakin Health Hub in the next few weeks.

Construction was set to begin on Canberra's first adolescent mental health unit, after land levy disputes created delays in the project's commencement.

Asset manager, Mitch Stone, said they were hopeful the current Sydney lockdown would ease in time to allow for contractors to get into Canberra when the necessary building approvals came through.

"However, we are continuing to monitor the situation," Mr Stone said.

"At present, and assuming there are no further delays, we are anticipating construction completion in September 2022."

Housing Industry Association's Greg Weller said the NSW Covid outbreak was affecting the housing industry in the flow of materials coming from Sydney, particularly bespoke products.

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