The Berejiklian government was forced to release thousands of documents this week around planning for the new Parramatta Powerhouse,the Ultimo creative precinct,and the fate of the museum's very large objects.
Upper House crossbenchers,including the Greens and the Shooters,Fishers and Farmers Party,united with Labor to enforce a call of papers ahead of new hearings into the $1.17 billion relocation project.
The project's timetable reveals the government is working towards ministerial approval for the new site by December,with a builder to be procured early next year and construction to wrap up sometime in 2024. The original timeline predicted a start on construction in 2019 and a grand opening in late 2023. The Powerhouse at Ultimo shuts its doors finally next July.
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A feasibility study commissioned in March confirmed at least 15 of the museum's largest objects would not fit in the new building's goods lift. This includes most of its steam engine collection,including NSW's first train,railway carriages,its tram,helicopter,and the train indicator board that stood at Central Station directing passengers for 76 years.
Engineering consultants Arup Australia investigated two options to lift the heavy objects,each carrying risks. The first involves designing a door into the lattice facade for passage of the objects from a landing in Phillip St. This required the purchase of an overhead crane costing $400,000 and hire of a mobile crane at a cost of $35,000.
"While the strategy is feasible,we'd like to advise against this due to the design complexity,capital,and maintenance costs associated[with] the custom-made doors and telescopic crane,"the report said.