Contractor named for Gold Coast Games

Contractor named for Gold Coast GamesConstruction firm Hansen Yuncken has been appointed contractor for the construction and upgrade of two showcase sports facilities that will be used during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.The $114-million Carrara Sports Precinct will stage the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, while the new $40-million Coomera Sports and Leisure Centre will host the gymnastics competition and netball finals.Work on the two venues is expected to create more than 0 jobs.Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, Jeff Seeney, said $320 million would be invested over the next four years to ensure the Gold Coast has the venues it needs to host the Games, after which they will become first-class sports and leisure facilities for use by the public.Commonwealth Games Minister Jann Stuckey said the Carrara Sports Precinct was a significant legacy project. “The redeveloped precinct will provide a mix of new elite and community facilities for all of south-east Queensland and encourage greater grassroots participation in sport on the Gold Coast,” she said.Stuckey described the Coomera Sports and Leisure Centre as one of the success stories from the early planning stages of the Games. Since the original plans were drawn up in 2011, the centre has doubled in size and will become a permanent, rather than temporary, facility.Hansen Yuncken has a strong presence in Queensland and said it will look to forge strong alliances with local businesses in designing and constructing both projects.”Our company is committed to supporting local industries and creating opportunities in the tendering for goods and services, as well as training opportunities for subcontractors,” said Hansen Yuncken state manager Greg Baumann.He cited Hansen Yuncken’s recent work in Cairns, where 90 per cent of the subcontract agreements let for the company’s projects were within the region, as proof of its support of local industry.”We will source suppliers in a manner that is consistent with the Queensland Government’s Charter for Local Content, using local content specialists such as the Industry Capability Network Queensland,” he said.Site works for the Carrara Sports Precinct are scheduled to start in late 2014 and construction of the Coomera Sports and Leisure Centre is scheduled for early 2015.