Construction of the commercial towers at Barangaroo will begin as soon as possible using the current design, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced today.

Mr O’Farrell said he was determined to get on with the Barangaroo project which will be crucial in creating jobs, attracting investment and giving Sydney one of the best new waterfront developments in the world.

A “snapshot” review of the commercial towers at Barangaroo, conducted by architects Shelley Penn, Peter Mould and Ray Brown, has been presented to the Government.

The review found that the three commercial towers are “high quality” and were consciously designed as a “family of buildings”.

However, the design review panel said consideration should be given to having three different styled buildings, possibly with taller, thinner towers. 

Mr O’Farrell said there were arguments for and against having similar towers but NSW could not afford to delay the project any longer while there was another debate over the design of the commercial buildings. 

“It is estimated that any new design of the towers could take up to 12 months to complete and we just cannot afford that kind of delay,” Mr O’Farrell said. 

“The fact is Barangaroo has been designed, re-designed and tweaked over and over again.

“If we keep debating the design it will never be built.

“Given the volatile nature of world markets, we simply cannot afford to delay Barangaroo while we look at alternative designs.

“It is time to get on with Barangaroo and we will proceed with the existing designs for the commercial towers.

“The towers – in particular the floor plates – are designed specifically to meet current and future requirements of the financial services industry and are in line with comparable towers the world’s major commercial centres.” 

Mr O’Farrell said Barangaroo will create about 3000 construction jobs – and a further 6000 jobs when it is completed.

“I want to start delivering those jobs as soon as possible,” he said.

“The Government will accept most of the recommendations in the report relating to need for better connections to the city and the podia design of the towers.

“But construction of the towers within the current overall design must go ahead without delay.

”We are sending a message to investors that NSW is open for business and Barangaroo will give the Sydney CBD its biggest economic boost for years.”