0°C | Tuesday April 29, 2025 
21 March 2025
The North Sydney Olympic Pool redevelopment is now expected to be completed in the second half of the year with contractor Icon revising its forecast practical completion date to 17 July 2025—over 12 months later than the current contractual date of 11 July 2024.
According to a council report to be considered at the 24 March meeting, program slippages continue to impact the project timeline despite ongoing onsite activity. Key construction elements have progressed, including completion of structural steel over the grandstand area and waterproofing on Level 3, but several critical components remain in progress. Erection of steel for the main Alfred Street entrance and the final structural elements of the Ripples Café reconstruction are underway, with off-site fabrication ongoing.
The redevelopment, which began in March 2021, encompasses a new 50m outdoor pool, a 25m indoor pool, family leisure pool, spa and sauna facilities, upgraded change rooms, gym, crèche and retail space. The new grandstand will seat 970 people.
Icon has now submitted 157 claims for extension of time, with the project superintendent currently assessing four outstanding claims totalling 32.5 days. Meanwhile, 37 new Requests for Information have been submitted since the previous report in February, bringing the project total to 1783. Of these, 41 RFIs remain unresolved. The high volume of RFIs is attributed to the construct-only nature of the contract, along with latent conditions and design issues.
Council remains concerned about the certainty of the contractor’s program forecasts and has begun applying liquidated damages from the original 11 July 2024 practical completion date. Ongoing delays are also driving increased project costs due to extended consultancy, insurance and miscellaneous expenses.
The revised construction contract sum now stands at $91.78m, with total project costs remaining within the $122m forecast budget. However, cost pressures continue to mount. Council has received 415 variation claims to date, including 57 currently under assessment. In addition, Icon has indicated a further 119 potential variation claims totalling approximately $4.2m that are yet to be lodged.
Recent assessed and agreed variations since the last reporting period total $35,530, mostly stemming from design changes to mechanical and electrical services and access adjustments in the plant room due to corrosion concerns.
Council officers have reiterated their focus on ensuring quality and compliance as the project progresses. As of early January, 58 quality issues remained unresolved.
Legal proceedings related to the project are ongoing.