Mr WOOD - 2005-08-23
For nearly two months, part of the new East Arm Wwharf has been closed because of major structural problems. When will you give this parliament a full and concise report, highlighting the present condition of the port, the exact cause of the structural problems of the port, how much it will cost to repair the port, who is to blame for the structural failing, and, who will pay for the repairs? Could you also say whether the use of the Fort Hill Wharf, because of problems with East Arm, will have a detrimental effect on the development of the waterfront and, if so, will there be a cost associated with that delay?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his very important question. To give some clarification, we are talking about Sstage 1 of East Arm Port, which is still new in a way. It was completed in December 1999, whereas Sstage 2 is, of course, a later edition,. sSo we are talking about Sstage 1, about 500 metres of wharf.
Basically, three tie rods on that wharf have been shown to have failed completely. Complex investigations involving ultrasound have been taking place over the last couple of months. The tie rods that are broken are being sent away for metallurgical examination. At this stage, I am not in a position to answer fully the important questions posed by the member for Nelson.
First of all, I am unable to say what exactly has caused these faults, or even the full extent of these faultsm.
However, what I can assure this House is that I am working very closely with both the Port Corporation and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure to find a way through this particular issue.
I am pleased to say that the consortium which built Sstage 1 of the wharf is also working closely with government in a cooperative way to try andto work through the issues.
I expect to have further information by the end of August from these investigations that are being carried out. I am more than willing to present to this House a forward plan abouton how these problems are going to be remediated.
One of the major questions I have been asking, and on which we are receiving expert advice, is: , what sort of load can we put on Sstage 1 in the interim? I am aware, as the member for Nelson said, that, basically, some operations from the East Arm Port have had to be moved over to this side, and I hope that it is an interim arrangement.
Another major question I have been asking is,: will it have an impact on the waterfront development? The answers to date have been, no, it will not have a major impact, member for Nelson.
These are important issues. The wharf is a very important part of Darwin being a gateway to Asia. As a minister, I have inherited these faults with the wharf. it is something that I have inherited, these faults in the wharf. However, I am working very closely with the agencies. We are working together to find a way through this particular issue so that inconvenience and the effect on port users will be minimised.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his very important question. To give some clarification, we are talking about Sstage 1 of East Arm Port, which is still new in a way. It was completed in December 1999, whereas Sstage 2 is, of course, a later edition,. sSo we are talking about Sstage 1, about 500 metres of wharf.
Basically, three tie rods on that wharf have been shown to have failed completely. Complex investigations involving ultrasound have been taking place over the last couple of months. The tie rods that are broken are being sent away for metallurgical examination. At this stage, I am not in a position to answer fully the important questions posed by the member for Nelson.
First of all, I am unable to say what exactly has caused these faults, or even the full extent of these faultsm.
However, what I can assure this House is that I am working very closely with both the Port Corporation and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure to find a way through this particular issue.
I am pleased to say that the consortium which built Sstage 1 of the wharf is also working closely with government in a cooperative way to try andto work through the issues.
I expect to have further information by the end of August from these investigations that are being carried out. I am more than willing to present to this House a forward plan abouton how these problems are going to be remediated.
One of the major questions I have been asking, and on which we are receiving expert advice, is: , what sort of load can we put on Sstage 1 in the interim? I am aware, as the member for Nelson said, that, basically, some operations from the East Arm Port have had to be moved over to this side, and I hope that it is an interim arrangement.
Another major question I have been asking is,: will it have an impact on the waterfront development? The answers to date have been, no, it will not have a major impact, member for Nelson.
These are important issues. The wharf is a very important part of Darwin being a gateway to Asia. As a minister, I have inherited these faults with the wharf. it is something that I have inherited, these faults in the wharf. However, I am working very closely with the agencies. We are working together to find a way through this particular issue so that inconvenience and the effect on port users will be minimised.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016