NEWS CBD under construction
THREE key NT Government construction projects have commenced this week in the Darwin CBD.
The fences are up and backhoes have moved on to Speakers Green to commence work on the $19.4 million underground car park.
The Cavenagh St shade structure, which will ultimately be covered in tropical vines to help mitigate heat in the city streets, is under way – with much of the construction works for the structure taking place off site.
The Barneson Boulevard project is also taking its next steps, with early works on-site around Dinah Beach Rd.
Changes to parking in the Barneson St area will take effect this week.
The project will also see the final stage of the Tiger Brennan Dr duplication completed.
All three projects are expected to create 300 local jobs.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said his absolute priority was to improve employment opportunities.
“And all of these projects are about attracting more tourists to our capital, which will create more jobs for Territori- ans,” he said. “We can expect to see a lot of work in the CBD over coming months. This is great news for the construction industry, for CBD retailers and for shop owners.”
Opposition leader Gary Higgins said he had concerns about the timing of the three combined projects, and the inconvenience it could create.
“At a time when we need to be encouraging as many peo- ple to stay and play in the CBD during Darwin event season it simply doesn’t make sense to turn much of the main thoroughfare into a construction zone,” he said.
“This week in Estimates, the Opposition was advised that it would be at least eight months for the initial excavation phase for the underground car park alone. The Opposition maintains that the $19.4 million car park is not a priority and that funding should instead have been allocated to a staged approach to undergrounding power.”
Mr Higgins said there remained questions about the new carpark, including who will operate the site once completed, how much it will cost to park there, and how many existing free car parks will be lost when this new carpark is built.