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Canberra Today 24°/28° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Bonner school construction’s back on

THE ACT Government and St Hilliers Construction has come to a formal agreement to recommence works on the Bonner Primary School and Phillip Housing Development projects, after they stopped work due to the company going into voluntary administration.

Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Economic Development, Andrew Barr announced today that a agreement was made and St Hilliers would resume work “under essentially the same terms and conditions as previously contracted”. Barr said negotiation had been in the making for two weeks.

“St Hilliers went into voluntary administration on Tuesday 15 May 2012, causing work on the sites to stop and putting into doubt payments to suppliers and subcontractors,” Barr said, in a statement.

“However, under the agreed arrangements, all suppliers and subcontractors will be paid their full entitlement for works completed before works were ceased on 15 May, as well as for all work going forward.

“I am delighted that the last couple of weeks of uncertainty have been put to rest with the reaching of this agreement. There has been a pleasing commitment from St Hilliers and the Administrators to reaching this agreement to allow the Government’s projects to proceed, and to ensuring that local jobs and businesses are maintained.

“The Bonner Primary School will still be ready for occupation for the start of the 2013 school year, as originally planned.”

Barr said the Bonner School and Phillip Housing projects will retain the site management teams, which have been working effectively with the Government, and we are assured by the quality of the local team provided by St Hilliers in seeing the ACT projects through to completion.

“It is important to note that the ACT Government projects did not contribute to the financial difficulties faced by St Hilliers Construction that led to the company going into voluntary administration,” he said.

“After several discussions, the Government is satisfied with the Administrator’s assurances that the group has the financial resources to continue trading.

“St Hilliers’s intention was always to continue to trade; however, the Government needed to ensure that the projects would still be deliverable and that payments to suppliers and subcontractors for work done to date and going forward are secure.”

 

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