Page 1566 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 14 May 2019
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anticipated in the initial business case development for the project. The cost-benefit ratio has already been revised up from 1.2 to at least 1.3 as a consequence of the project’s costs being lower than expected.
In terms of direct economic impact, our gross state product in 2017-18 increased by four per cent. This was the highest growth rate of any jurisdiction in Australia. Two sectors of the economy that contributed significantly to that increased growth were the construction sector and professional, scientific and technical services. The light rail project had an impact in both of those areas and contributed positively to the territory’s economic growth.
There is no doubt that the more investment there is in high quality transport infrastructure, the greater the productive capacity of the economy and of course we see, particularly as measured through GSP, a direct benefit of this project for the territory’s economy.
MR PETTERSSON: Chief Minister, how many jobs were supported in the construction phase and created through the commencement of operations?
MR BARR: The answer is that more than 5,000 people worked on the project, more than 300 local businesses were involved in delivering aspects of the project, and more than 70 per cent of the project workforce came from Canberra and the surrounding region. So it has been an absolute success for the local economy and for people who wanted to be part of the project, from traffic controllers and electricians, to engineers and construction managers.
Some of the local companies that participated in the construction of light rail include Capital Asphalt, Rodgers Electrical and ABS facade. Dozens more ongoing jobs have been created in the territory for customer service officers, drivers and maintenance team members, and these have been filled by Canberrans.
MS CHEYNE: Chief Minister, how has this project been structured to ensure that it was delivered on budget?
MR BARR: The final project costs released yesterday show that it has been delivered $108 million under the territory’s original budget, the business case, within the originally forecast time period and to a very high standard. This does not happen just by chance. It was possible because of a sound procurement process, a clear contract at the outset of the project, a robust governance framework and careful management of the contingency held by the territory.
The good governance arrangements ensured clear direction on the project, timely communication from relevant agencies and directorates to government, and the ability for the territory to make well-informed and prompt decisions on key project matters. I particularly acknowledge the chair of the board, John Fitzgerald, and the entire project advisory board for their efforts to deliver light rail for Canberra. With this sort of important governance structure in place, we were confident that we would be able to deliver the project as we promised.
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