Minister frustrated over latest uni facility delay
Education Minister Chris Hipkins says he is ‘‘disappointed’’ and frustrated by further delays to the development of a
$206 million science research centre at Lincoln University.
Lincoln acting vice-chancellor Professor Bruce McKenzie said the university and AgResearch, which were partners in the joint facility, decided in April to delay construction and put the construction contract back out for tender. They hoped to appoint a lead contractor by August, start construction in October or November, and open the first part of the building at the end of
2020 – about two years later than expected.
Though earthworks began last August, Lincoln and AgResearch are yet to present an implementation business case to Cabinet detailing the project’s price tag, main contractor and delivery plan.
Until that happens, an $85m Crown commitment to fund most of Lincoln’s contribution to its development remains uncertain. The university, which posted a $7.5m operating surplus in its 2017 Annual Report released this week, sees the 900-scientist centre as central to financial and overall sustainability.
The business case was initially due in October 2017. Hipkins said he was informed in August that its completion had been pushed back to March 18 to finalise the facility’s design and ‘‘provide greater certainty of the costs of the project’’.
On March 15, the parties said they needed to delay its submission – and thus, the centre’s construction – until later this year.
‘‘This is frustrating given it will now be even longer before the significant benefits of this project are realised,’’ Hipkins said in a statement.
The Government ‘‘remains committed to the joint facility project and the wider Lincoln Hub concept’’, a collaboration between Lincoln University, DairyNZ and three Crown research institutes, including AgResearch.
However, Cabinet would not allocate any funding without first endorsing the business case. ‘‘I look forward to receiving it,’’ Hipkins added.
Treasury has expressed concerns about the facility’s development. In April last year, it gave the project an amber/red rating, citing a need to better develop its governance and investment plans, financial options and operating model.
Agenda minutes from the Lincoln University Council’s May meeting note the joint facility ‘‘has continued to consume a lot of management time’’.
‘‘The current situation with no building work started and the Burns Building physically isolated is not ideal, but staff seem to be coping well.’’
The minutes showed Southbase Construction’s work on campus finished on May 11 and the site had since been under the control of Hamish Cochrane, the project’s senior responsible officer.