Construction giant John Holland has signed the contract to carry out major works on stage three of the Gold Coast light rail.
Stage three of the project will extend the rail by 6.7 kilometres from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads.
The total price tag on the project is now $1.2 billion, which is $500 million more than initially expected.
"We expected it to be about a billion [$1.04bn] a year ago and the business case was $709 million," Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said.
John Holland was named as the preferred contractor in 2020, and early works along the Gold Coast Highway have been underway since last year, but the contract for the major works was finalised on Wednesday.
Cost increase
Mr Bailey partly blamed the pandemic for the blowout in cost and length of contract negotiations.
It's understood part of the blowout is due to the state government's 'Best Practice Industry Conditions' policy for major construction projects, which was introduced in 2020.
"We've overhauled the way we do these big contracts, under Best Practice Industry Conditions, we make sure safety is our first priority on the site," Mr Bailey said.
"But a lot of the cost has to do with inflation that's underway in the economy and that's flowing through into all the different inputs that go into this project."
The project is funded by federal, state and local governments.
Paul Fletcher, the Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts said he was disappointed by the delay.
“The Morrison government has always backed this important project, providing additional funding to the Queensland government when it has been requested, to ensure the project is delivered."
'Massive Milestone'
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said finalising the contract was a 'massive milestone'.
“We know Gold Coasters love light rail, with the G recently clocking a milestone 60 million trips taken since it opened," Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said the project would create 760 jobs.
“We know how successful light rail was during the 2018 Commonwealth Games and this next stage will play a key role in moving people between venues at the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games."
Ride the light rail in 2025
Construction is due to start in the next month, with the first commuters expected to be on board by 2025.
"This is a massive build because it's a live environment so it'll take a little longer than stage two," Mr Bailey said.
The 6.7 kilometre stretch will have eight new stations including Nobby Beach, Miami and Burleigh Heads.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate labelled it another great deal for the Coast.
