ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel has firmly rejected suggestions that Canberra taxpayers would have saved money if construction on the Woden light rail extension had commenced earlier, stating the project faced impossible barriers during the pandemic period.
Pandemic Constraints Made Early Start Impossible
During a parliamentary inquiry hearing, Minister Steel acknowledged that infrastructure costs generally increase with project delays but maintained that starting construction sooner wouldn't have yielded savings. The global pandemic created supply chain disruptions, widespread economic inflation, and critical capacity limitations that would have affected any construction timeline.
"We've had several intervening events, which was a global pandemic that did result in supply chain issues, inflation right across the economy, but also particularly for infrastructure projects and the cost of delivery," Mr Steel told the committee.
He emphasised that the fundamental constraint was a complete lack of industry capacity to deliver the project during the pandemic period, which influenced the government's decision not to sign contracts for stage 2A earlier.
Opposition Questions Project Costs and Timeline
Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton challenged the Minister during the Legislative Assembly's transport and city services committee hearing, asking how much taxpayers would have saved if the project had been completed by 2025 as originally envisioned.
A 2019 business case that the government initially sought to keep secret had indicated the preferred Woden alignment could have opened to passengers in 2025 at a cost of $1.5 billion. Mr Steel characterised this question as hypothetical, noting that any contractor would have needed additional funding regardless of the start date due to intervening economic factors.
Mr Parton also highlighted the increasing costs of light rail stage 2A, currently under construction. The original project value of $780.8 million has grown to $822 million, according to the Infrastructure Canberra annual report.
Funding Arrangements and Future Stages Questioned
The hearing revealed complexities in the funding arrangement with the Commonwealth government, which had signed a 50-50 construction funding deal in 2023. Minister Steel clarified that the federal contribution only applies to specific project components, excluding elements like light rail vehicles, making the actual funding split unequal.
When questioned about the potential for continuous work on light rail stages, Mr Steel pushed back against suggestions from both the Liberals and the ACT Greens that project continuity would improve efficiency. He explained that different stages require different expertise and contractors, making seamless transitions between projects impractical.
"There are different professions and experts that are required at different stages of the projects," Mr Steel said. "Those who are working on the later stages of a project may not be required at the beginning of a project."
Following the hearing, Mr Parton criticised the government's approach, stating they appeared to operate on the premise of "an endless bucket of money" and comparing the light rail project management challenges to the troubled MyWay+ system rollout.
