Long-lasting litigation over cost overruns at The Star Entertainment Group’s Queen’s Wharf, a $3.6 billion mixed-use residential and entertainment development in Brisbane, has rocketed after Multiplex, the project’s builder, submitted a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the mentioned company and its partners.
Retaliation:
The Star is not sitting idly by as it has revealed that it has retaliated with its own counter lawsuit over Multiplex’s failure to meet contractural milestones for the said project. As a result, the official opening of Queen’s Wharf has been postponed until early 2024. Relatedly, The Star revealed that “the Destination Brisbane Consortium, the group’s joint venture with Hong Kong-based partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, has been served in the Supreme Court by Multiplex Constructions over claims for additional costs, extensions of time and damages.”
However, there were signs that such a thing might happen, when The Star disclosed in 2022 that “the consortium has been holding ongoing negotiations with Multiplex over the disputed claims.” In addition, in its fiscal year 2022 revenue data, it was shown that “costs for Queen’s Wharf had blown out by $260 million.” In this regard, Business News Australia has requested an additional comment, involving details of the amount Multiplex is seeking and the level of financial compensation it is seeking from the developer, from the aforementioned firm.
Constant postponement of the project:
The aforementioned Queen’s Wharf project, which will include The Star’s latest casino, 1,100 hotel rooms and 2,000 apartments as well as the Skydeck platform for the observation which will include 50 restaurants, cafes and bars, was initially projected to officially open at the end of 2022.
However, the opening date was initially pushed back to Christmas 2023, leading to the firm announcing earlier this year that “further delays would push the opening to April next year.” Although delays are constant, the aforementioned firm has gained access to several finished floors within the project. Relatedly, in June, Robbie Cook The Star’s CEO, said: “The revised opening date followed careful consideration of current progress by our builder. Queen’s Wharf has not been immune from the types of pressures that other major infrastructure projects across Australia have encountered.”
In a statement sent to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the company noted: “While we have yet to file a defense to the Multiplex claim, the Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC) also has claims against Multiplex for liquidated damages payable for delay in achieving key milestones under the contract. The Star understands that the claim seeks various declarations from the court regarding extensions of time, relevant milestone dates, liquidated damages, variations and certain other matters, including potential sums payable, in connection with the contract and seeks various orders in relation to those matters. The Star understands that DBC intends to defend the proceedings and The Star will keep the market informed upon filing of DBC’s defence and any counter claims.”