Page 1364 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 April 2013
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key tool in leveraging not just better public transport for people but also a more sustainable form of development across the city.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Minister, how much has been spent to date on light rail and how much do you expect the total project to cost taxpayers?
MR CORBELL: I note that Mr Coe has asked this of me in a question on notice. I am pleased to advise Mr Coe that I have the answer to his question. $913,000 was spent in 2011-12 and to date $76,000 has been spent in 2012-13.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Ms Berry.
MS BERRY: Minister, how is the Capital Metro project proceeding since you announced it last September?
MR CORBELL: Again, I thank Ms Berry for her supplementary. Significant work has been undertaken within government to set the framework and the groundwork for governance and oversight of this very important project. Given the complexity of the project, the government has agreed to the establishment of a Capital Metro agency to be established from 1 July this year, which will be overseen by a project board. The government has agreed that I will be the responsible minister for this project.
The agency will be headed by a project director, who will directly report to the board. The board will be a decision-making one concentrating on strategic issues relating to the successful progression of the project. The government is currently in the process of recruiting a project director to lead the new agency and a suitably qualified person to chair the board.
In the interim, a senior executive of the ACT government service has carriage of the project, ensuring that the necessary financial, legal, governance and administrative arrangements are set in place in the initial life of the new agency. We will soon be undertaking detailed risk analysis to understand and manage the risks presented by the project and identify appropriate mitigation strategies.
We have begun coordination of research for what will become the property strategy for the corridor, recognising the significant redevelopment potential along the corridor. The government is also in the process of developing a land release model that is able to quickly react to market requirements, attentive to social and environmental impacts of urban renewal along the corridor.
Work is also underway on a range of preliminary engineering investigations, transport planning, and economic and financing studies. This highlights that the government is getting on with the job of delivering on this important election commitment and implementing a strong and robust governance framework to guide the future development of the project.
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