Missed deadlines put pressure on Sydney’s Metro West’s opening date

2 months ago 6

The NSW government has repeatedly missed its own deadlines for awarding the final tranche of major contracts for Sydney’s largest metro rail project, which will pile extra pressure on contractors to complete the $29 billion underground line between the central city and Parramatta by 2032.

Internal Sydney Metro documents show the government agency has frequently deferred forecast dates for awarding multibillion-dollar contracts over the past 18 months for the 24-kilometre underground rail line.

The Metro West rail project is now forecast to cost as much as $29 billion, from $25.3 billion previously.

Illustrating the problem, the agency has twice missed dates – firstly in June and then October this year – for awarding a major contract for line-wide systems, which involves designing and installing electrical and mechanical equipment for the fully automated railway.

Likewise, awarding a single contract for construction of five stations at Westmead, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock and The Bays at Rozelle had been targeted for September and missed its new deadline of last Friday.

A major contract for trains and systems, and operations and maintenance, was also scheduled to be awarded in May before being postponed to late September, leaving contractors still waiting.

Martin Locke, an adjunct professor at Sydney University’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, said delays to awarding contracts would lead to cost increases, while adding pressure on contractors to complete Metro West by its planned opening to passengers in 2032.

“The longer you drag these things out, the more scope there is for other factors to change,” he said. “It begs the question of what is causing the hold-up in the awarding of contracts? It is already behind schedule.”

The Minns government reset the project in December 2023 to “a more sustainable timeline”, delaying the opening by two years to 2032. At the time, it said that the extra construction period would mean “taxpayers will not be paying a premium to deliver the project”.

The government confirmed early this month that the cost of Metro West will blow out by as much as $3.7 billion to $29 billion, but sought to lay blame on the previous Coalition government.

A station under construction beneath Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD for the Metro West project.

Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said nothing had been achieved since the two-year delay announced by the government in 2023.

“Chris Minns delayed Metro West by two years, promising it would ‘get the project back on track’. Now the project is under significant time pressure to even be open by 2032,” she said.

“Look at the track record: Metro Southwest a year behind the promised opening, Metro West late to award contracts and no one can say when Metro Western Sydney Airport will open.”

The government has been left with a single consortium comprising billionaire Justin Hemmes’ Merivale, and property giants Lendlease and Mirvac, bidding for construction in the central city of a Metro West station beneath Hunter Street and towers up to 60 storeys above. Another consortium of Multiplex and Brookfield pulled out of the tender early this year.

Sydney Metro’s documents show it is targeting the awarding of that contract by Friday.

Locke said it was concerning that there remained only one bidder for the CBD station and major development above it. “How does government demonstrate value for money?” he asked.

However, Sydney Metro said it had undertaken a robust evaluation of the tenderer’s proposal for the Hunter Street station to ensure it met all requirements and delivered value for money.

The agency said it would begin awarding the remaining contracts for the mega-project shortly, and multiple contracts would be allocated throughout next year, while adding it was targeting an opening in 2032.

“Metro West is a multibillion-dollar, city-shaping project and we are going to get the contracts right. The tenders for line-wide, TSMO [trains and systems, and operations and maintenance] and stations packages west were in market in 2024 and closed earlier this year,” it said.

“They have been going through a comprehensive evaluation and approval process to ensure best value for the taxpayer.”

Two years ago, a confidential review of Sydney’s metro rail projects warned that there would be “extensive time and cost pressures on overall delivery” of Metro West if contracts for stations, line-wide, trains and systems, and operations and maintenance were “not in the market” by early 2024.

The reviewers advised that it proceed to the tender phase no later than the second quarter of 2024 to “reserve market participation and delivery momentum”.

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