Crucial fire and safety upgrades to Melbourne’s City Loop network are nearly $350 million over-budget and languishing without a contractor or completion date.
The City Loop Fire and Safety Upgrade was first announced in 2014, after the Victorian Ombudsman slammed the Transport Department for exposing commuters to serious safety risks.
But a change of government and several years of delays now leave the crucial project stalled with no contractor for the past three years, no estimated completion date and a budget blowout of $339 million – nine times the original cost.
Shadow Minister for Public Transport Steph Ryan said the Andrews Labor Government had compromised the safety of the hundreds of thousands of commuters who used the City Loop every year, with key fire safety works still not complete.
“Work at these stations stalled when the project contractor went broke in December 2018, with the Andrews Labor Government failing to appoint a new contractor in the three years since,” Ms Ryan said.
“Not only does it mean commuters are at risk because crucial fire and safety upgrades haven’t been completed, it’s also left large parts of these stations blocked off to the public.
“Labor’s failure to prioritise these vital works – recommended by the Ombudsman 10 years ago – is shocking.”
The upgrade to the City Loop was announced in 2014, with a budget of $43 million. In 2016, the Andrews Labor Government increased the cost of the project to $134 million – without changing the project scope.
By 2018, the project contractor went broke and work stopped.
In September this year, the Department of Transport confirmed it still hadn’t resolved the problems and didn’t know when work will recommence.
Ms Ryan said the total cost had now blown out to an estimated $382 million under the Labor Government, but a new contractor still hadn’t been appointed.
“Labor has been in government 17 of the past 21 years. The Ombudsman flagged these issues ten years ago. But a decade later, the Andrews Government has not completed the work,” Ms Ryan said.