Independent review announced for Sydney Metro

NSW, sydney metro,

April 18, 2023

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The Minns Labor Government will establish a comprehensive independent review into the whole Sydney Metro program to determine how to salvage the current projects.

Upon taking office less than a month ago, it has become clear that challenges facing the Sydney Metros are major.

The Sydney Metro Program has been plagued by significant cost overruns and significant time delays.

The review will be led by Mike Mrdak. Mr Mrdak has a distinguished career in the Australian Public Service, having worked in infrastructure, transport, regional development, communications and digital economy.

Mr Mrdak was a federal departmental secretary for more than a decade, including as head of the Infrastructure Department.

He will be joined by Amanda Yeates as the Deputy Chair. Ms Yeates was previously the Deputy Director General, Department of Transport and Main Roads in Queensland, where she was responsible for the state’s infrastructure program.

Initial early briefings sought by the Minns Labor Government have revealed:

• Sydney Metro West is estimated to cost $25.32 billion – a cost overrun of at least $12 billion.
• Sydney Metro West is estimated to open in 2030 at the earliest – compared to initial Coalition government estimates of mid-late 2020s.
• The estimated full cost of building Sydney Metro City and Southwest is at least $20.5 billion:
  • This is up to around $9 billion more than the initial estimated full cost.
  • This is at least $2 billion more than the price tag most recently touted by the former government.

“We said would be honest and upfront with the people of NSW about the true state of projects we inherited,” says NSW Premier Chris Minns.

“We know we have significant challenges. This review is about assembling the right rescue team to come up with solutions to get literally get the metro projects back on track,” says NSW Premier Chris Minns.

“We’re not interested in casting blame – we’re interested in finding solutions,” says NSW Premier Chris Minns.

The Sydney Metro Review will examine delivery models, project governance and passenger impacts and the best way to resuscitate Sydney’s major transport infrastructure pipeline.

The review will also thoroughly evaluate the delivery of Sydney Metro to date, the current state of progress against delivery targets and make recommendations for getting the maximum value out of the project, including looking at better land use, urban renewal and better integration with the wider transport network.

“We have inherited significant challenges on the Metro program and in transport more broadly,” says Minister for Transport Jo Haylen.

“Given the significant investment in the Sydney Metro to date, and the importance of delivering improvements to the broader public transport system, an urgent independent review into the whole Sydney Metro project is appropriate and warranted,” says Minister for Transport Jo Haylen.

It will be undertaken with a view to determining how to deliver a fully integrated, safe, accessible and reliable public transport system, not just Sydney Metro.

The review team has been asked to deliver a preliminary report to help inform the 2023 Budget process, with a final report to be delivered by the end of 2023.

Source: © State of New South Wales

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