The ground work has been completed, but the $45.8million Cromwell Memorial Hall, Museum and Arts Centre project has already dipped into its contingency fund.

In a report presented to the Central Otago District Council (CODC) on Wednesday, property and facilities manager Garreth Robinson said asbestos removal during the demolition phase, along with historic underground pipes having to be moved had resulted in a $760,000

overspend.

That amount was made of $128,000 asbestos removal, $310,000 in ground material and $323,000 three waters.

“Consumption of the contingency has been slightly higher than expected, placing pressure on the fixed budget,” he said.

However, given the ground works were now completed, those variations were expected to be reduced.  

Deputy Mayor Neil Gillespie told the meeting that while the extra costs were small in the bigger scheme of things, they were not insignificant.

He questioned “how can we get things so wrong?”

Speaking to The Central App after the meeting Cr Gillespie said the existing pipework was discovered to be in a different place than originally thought, so they had to be moved before additional work could be done.

“The records showed where the infrastructure was, and it was not where it was.”

“I’m not blaming the contractor because they were told the pipes were here and they were somewhere different, but it’s a huge amount of money.”

Garreth said structural steel had now been erected on two thirds of the building and the building was “effectively out of the ground,” with the last concrete slab pour carried out last week on November 15.

The extra remedial work pushed back the project by 19 days however the first number of precast slabs (33) were on track for arrival in early December.

Concept plans for the new $45.8 million facility in Cromwell. CODC PHOTO

Architectural firm Jasmax designed the multi-purpose facility, replacing its 60-year-old predecessor on Melmore Tce overlooking Lake Dunstan.

Construction is being undertaken by Naylor Love.

As part of the projects the War Memorial commemorating the fallen from the last century’s two World Wars will be retained and relocated to the new building’s entry. 

The facility will feature a 400-seat auditorium space alongside a new museum that connects to the Old Cromwell Town and Heritage Precinct. 

Also included in the development are a café, 40-seat cinema and community and event spaces overlooking the lakeside.

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