Circular Quay turns into money pit, with no sign of upgrades before 2027

4 hours ago 2

The NSW government is unwilling to guarantee construction will start on upgrading Circular Quay’s aged ferry wharves and promenade before the next state poll in March 2027, despite promising the revamp at the last election.

NSW’s transport agency has also postponed plans to shut wharf two for six weeks for maintenance from this month, which would have forced Manly Fast Ferry vessels to use another wharf and taken large Freshwater-class ferries out of service because of reduced space at Circular Quay.

The Circular Quay ferry wharves were largely built in the 1940s.

While the long-promised upgrade of the wharves and promenade has stalled, Transport for NSW confirmed that $190 million has been spent on the project to date, mostly on planning.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said the government should come clean and explain where the funding had gone and when it plans to upgrade Circular Quay.

Although the scale of the Circular Quay revamp has been scaled back from previous plans, a hold-up to further funding is delaying the project proceeding to the next stage, which would involve seeking planning approval and, if granted, contractors to overhaul the wharves and promenade.

Asked what guarantees will be given that construction will begin before the 2027 state election, Transport Minister John Graham said the government would start “when the time’s right”.

Circular Quay’s ferry wharves are showing clear signs of wear and tear.

“There are no shortcuts here. We don’t want to start something, disrupt people and then not have it set to go,” he said. “There’s no way to make changes at Circular Quay without disrupting one of the key gateways to Sydney.”

Graham said most of the money forked out on the project so far had been spent on planning and preparing for changes that would occur at Circular Quay.

“We want to make sure that we’re set to go before we leap into that peak construction phase,” he said. “Of course, maintenance is under way, making sure that these wharves are safe.”

The promenade’s supporting structure is at the end of its working life, and vehicles over two tonnes are banned from it because of the safety risk, limiting access for emergency vehicles. The wharves do not comply with accessibility standards, and are also at the end of their working lives.

The wharves at Circular Quay are ageing.

Pyrmont local Neil McKenzie believes a facelift for Circular Quay is long overdue, describing its rusted steel beams and weatherbeaten ramps and wharves as looking “extremely tired”.

“The nearby new fish market puts this to shame. It needs to be redeveloped; it needs to be modernised,” he said.

“If there are structural issues underneath, then they need to pull it all off and redo it. The last thing you want is something to break underneath it and tilt or [have] people fall off.”

Upgrading the ferry wharves and promenade was a Labor promise at the 2023 election, and calculations by the Parliamentary Budget Office at the time estimated it would cost $716 million.

Ines and Emilio Moran, who have lived in Sydney for more than 50 years, regularly catch ferries to Manly and Watsons Bay from Circular Quay. While they appreciate the historical significance of the wharves and promenade, they stressed the importance of safety upgrades.

“If it needs to change, it needs to change,” Ines said. “If it’s for safety purposes then they should change it.”

Maritime Union of Australia deputy secretary Paul Garrett said millions of dollars had been wasted on architects “who draw things on paper but have no functional reality whatsoever”.

“We’re keen to engage with the government and industry to get to the table and deliver the wharves that passengers and ferry workers deserve,” said Garrett, whose union represents ferry deckhands.

Transport for NSW said the funding spent on the project to date includes preparation of a business case, detailed design, complex technical studies, procurement documentation and an environmental impact statement.

“Additionally, to understand the unique risks and challenges, Transport has worked with industry partners and undertaken site investigation work,” it said.

The agency had planned to start six weeks of critical repairs to wharf two this month, but has postponed it until next year, after the busy summer period when ferry patronage surges, especially on weekends.

“This will allow further investigation of options to reduce the required closure period and ensure continued operation of the iconic Freshwater-class ferries,” it said.

Melbourne resident Carly Mansfield, who stays in Sydney for a month each year, said she was excited at the prospect of a potential upgrade. “If it means disruption to the area to get it done right, then it’s worth it,” she said.