Mr Perrottet said that,while the government had got most of its decisions right during the pandemic,the two-week construction ban was one measure he did not agree with.
“Upon reflection,I think we should have kept going,” Mr Perrottet said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet at the Barangaroo Metro dive site on Friday.Rhett Wyman
“From time to time we’ve got it wrong on various decisions but,in the main,we’ve got it right... Construction was a challenging discussion and debate that we had. It was a hard decision to close construction during Delta.”
Sydney’s construction industry was put on ice for two weeks in late July as the city battled to contain the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta strain. It then operated at 50 per cent capacity until late September.
The Premier said the government would soon have a clearer picture of the economic impact that the construction ban caused as it works towards the mid-year economic update.
“We want to make sure that we get these projects expedited and work expedited so that we keep to the timelines that we set. In some cases that may not happen but in other projects we might actually come in ahead of time,” Mr Perrottet said.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Transport and Roads Rob Stokes inspect the progress on the Barangaroo Metro Station.Rhett Wyman
“We need to do everything we can to ensure that any delays to projects are minimised and any cost escalations are minimised as well.”
that the government expected the ban to cost the state about $500 million.
Work on close to $8 billion worth of major infrastructure projects - including the new airport and Southwest Metro - was paused within Sydney’s coronavirus red zones between late July and the second week of August.
The Premier joined newly appointed Transport Minister Rob Stokes at the Barangaroo Metro dive site on Friday to inspect the progress of the rail project,which is set to open to the public in 2024.
Track-laying on the 800-metre-long tunnels beneath the harbour has been completed,while more than 650,000 tonnes of crushed rock has been removed from the Barangaroo caverns.
The rail network will span from Sydney’s north-west,through the CBD and on to Bankstown.
“Sydney Metro will transform the way we travel around our great city - the trip deep under Sydney Harbour will take just three minutes between the new Barangaroo Station and Victoria Cross Station at North Sydney.”
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