{"id":287406,"date":"2020-11-25T23:48:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T13:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=287406"},"modified":"2020-11-27T11:06:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T01:06:10","slug":"kingaroy-project-hits-13-9m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/11\/25\/kingaroy-project-hits-13-9m\/","title":{"rendered":"Kingaroy Project Hits $13.9m"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An upgraded Glendon Street “city heart” design has added an extra $450,000 to the Kingaroy Transformation project … but councillors expressed concerns about where an extra $2 million cost blow-out has come from<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 25, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Dafyd Martindale<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council has voted to go ahead with a controversial expansion of the Kingaroy Transformation Project despite fears of a budget blowout.<\/p>\n

Wednesday’s Council meeting heard fears the South Burnett could end up in the same position as Gympie Regional Council – which has had to borrow money to pay wages – if the project runs into the red.<\/p>\n

The estimated cost of the Kingaroy Transformation project (KTP) – originally projected as $8 million in 2017 and then $11.1 million earlier this year – has now hit $13.9 million despite the fact the first sod has not yet been turned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest figure is made up of a $4.5 million contribution from the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund, $2.3 million in contributions from the Department Of Transport and Main Roads and Ergon for infrastructure upgrades, and $7.1 million from Council.<\/p>\n

However, it emerged on Wednesday that final agreements with DTMR and Ergon have not been locked in and ratepayers could be left to pick up a large tab if Council’s engineers discovered the town’s underground infrastructure was in a worse condition than expected.<\/p>\n

Councillors were asked to vote on a four-part motion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

That Council<\/em><\/p>\n