SA Water says Adelaide’s desalination plant is on track for completion by July, despite operational hiccups and financial questions about the project.
There are suggestions SA Water and AdelaideAqua are at loggerheads over costly late completion penalties.
Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond has questioned the Government’s competence over the water project.
“One would hope that when a government is entering into contracts for the biggest infrastructure project that this state has seen in terms of its cost that they would have actually managed to get contracts that were, pardon the pun, watertight,” she said.
SA Water CEO John Ringham says there are no financial claims on the table from AdelaideAqua.
“There are no problems between the two groups. As in all contracts there are sometimes robust discussions about the conditions of the contract but there is a good relationship between the two parties,” he said.
Adelaide Aqua says it will keep working with SA Water to deliver the project by the middle of the year.
Water Minister Paul Caica denies any mishandling of the contract by the Government.
“At the end of the day we have a fixed-term contract which the proponents signed,” he said.
“Ultimately what we want is we want the project to be completed … and it will be completed within the existing budget and we want to make sure that thereafter we have South Australia’s water supplies secured for future generations.”
The desalination plan is due to be fully operational by the end of next year.
