Curtin University Professor Abhijit Mukherjee,who specialises in assessment and rehabilitation of heritage structures,said remediation of the power station would be possible but repair costs went up “exponentially” with time.
The site has sat empty since the power station closed down in 1985.Supplied
“If the concrete has corroded,it can be repaired. We have the technology,” he said.
“The biggest cost item in all these projects is indecision,that’s my experience in previous projects.”
Station owner Synergy’s plans to sell the site to billionaire Kerry Stokes were in tatters last week when Stokes’ private investment firm Australian Capital Equity pulled out of the deal after an eight-month due diligence process.
Synergy,a state-owned company,said ACE abandoned the deal after finding remediation costs of the structure and site were too expensive.
The power station structure is one of four remaining cathedral-style stations built in Australia and the UK from the 1930s to 1950s,but it is riddled with concrete cancer – a rusting of metal in concrete that damages structural integrity.
The power station stopped operations in 1985 and has been abandoned ever since.
It has been earmarked for redevelopment since 2014 as part of an urban renewal plan for the coastline stretching from South Beach to Port Coogee,but every attempt to do something with the site.
Former WA premier Colin Barnett told Radio 6PR last week it would cost “tens and tens of millions” to remediate the building,so it should be destroyed.
“My suggestion is,rather than have this basically falling down eyesore,destroy it,get rid of it,and then find a better use to get public access to that beautiful little piece of coastline,” he said.
The City of Cockburn disagreed. Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett said the building’s heritage listing would complicate attempts to demolish it.
Howlett urged the state government to take responsibility for the site off Synergy and splash some cash on remediation as it is doing on the East Perth Power Station site,
Mukherjee,who described himself as a “conservation engineer” said demolition was always the cheapest option – but should also be the last.
“My point is that any building can be refurbished,can be made safe,” he said.
“I think the public and politicians and the owner should decide what is a reasonable cost.”
Mukherjee has helped repair old power stations for continued use,which he said was more difficult than the South Fremantle site because they involved the continued operation of vibrating machinery.
“If you are removing all that it is a static building,and Australia doesn’t have much of a risk of earthquakes,it should be quite easy to repair,” he said.
He said the first step would be to stop concrete cancer from spreading any further and compensate for lost strength in the structure,which could be done using newer technologies and materials such as carbon fibre.
“You can repair the building,repurpose the building,without having to have very large cross-sections or changing stuff,” he said.
What about the other bidders?
Synergy has no plans to contact other developers involved in an expression of interest period run in June last year.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston revealed there were 12 offers to develop the station within 24 hours of the EOI process opening.
However,Synergy said none of these expressions met their criteria to proceed to a bidding stage,and it was taking some time to work out what it could do with the site.
“Potential buyers,who met required criteria,were invited to register a bid for the property in August 2021. There were no conforming bids to purchase the former power station at the end of this[EOI] process,” a Synergy spokesman said.
“Following ACE’s decision not to proceed with its purchase of the former power station,Synergy will take the appropriate time to consider future options for the site and remains committed to seeing the site developed for the benefit of the people of Western Australia.”
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