Olympic aquatic centre may be cheaper than thought

Brisbane 2032’s independent infrastructure delivery body has walked back claims the proposed National Aquatic Centre at Spring Hill would cost taxpayers more than $1 billion to build.

Citing media comments by Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority chairman Stephen Conry that the pool complex would cost $1.2 billion, former Labor treasurer Cameron Dick grilled the acting GIICA chief executive, Nick Elliott, over the source of that figure.

“Was this $1.2 billion figure provided to the chair by the staff of the authority?” Dick asked.

Elliott said the estimate, which was “very preliminary in nature”, was an aggregate cost across a number of venues, some 13 kilometres apart.

“It encompasses work required in the National Aquatic Centre, but also work required in the Chandler precinct,” he said.

The Crisafulli government announced the NAC, which would be built around the Centenary Pool at Victoria Park, when it released its 2032 delivery plan in March.

While competition venues had not been finalised, the Chandler precinct, for which GIICA trademarked the name Brisbane Sports Park, was slated to host several Olympic and Paralympic events, such as track cycling.

Elliott said the actual costs would not be known until the project validation process was completed, but the NAC’s delivery would still be funded through the state and federal governments’ $7.1 billion funding envelope.

“We are at the early stages of the project validation reporting process,” he said.

“We have a lot to do around understanding requirements and designs for a legacy facility that will also facilitate the conduct of the Olympic Games.”

He said GIICA still had work to do with specialist advisers, including designers, quantity surveyors and engineers.

“It’s way too early to be quoting numbers at this stage, and I really caution that we have worked through cost estimates across the program based on affordability as part of the 100-day review.

“We now need to do a lot more detailed analysis.”

Elliott will be replaced on Friday, when former Queen’s Wharf project manager Simon Crooks permanently steps into the role.

GIICA did not recommend the NAC in its 100-day review, which found the best legacy outcome would be the proposed Brisbane Arena at Woolloongabba.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told the estimates hearing the government had received interest from 280 organisations in the private sector to build the arena and the wider Woolloongabba precinct.

During his first estimates hearing as deputy premier, Bleijie falsely claimed the former Labor government had “secretly” moved the planned arena from its original location over the railway tracks near Roma Street station to a location in the nearby parklands.

The former Miles government accepted the Quirk review’s recommendation that the arena be located in the parklands near the Normanby Fiveways, holding a press conference and distributing a media release to announce the change.

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