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THE CONSTRUCTION of the new $2.85 million Bundamba fire station has been delayed after the principal contractor Batir went into liquidation.
An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) notice of January 20 said that "at a general meeting of the members of the company held on 19 January 2017, it was resolved that (Batir Pty Ltd) be wound up and that Thomas Dawson be appointed liquidator”.
As Batir is the principal contractor on the Bundamba fire station, no work has been done on the site since the liquidator was appointed.
The station is one of several projects Batir was working on from the Queensland Government.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) spokesman told the QT last year the building was slated to finish early this year, but that was not going to happen.
The QFES and the Public Safety Business Agency (PSBA) are the clients for the rebuild of the station.
It is being managed by Building and Asset Services, a unit within the Department of Public Works.
The QT understands that Building and Asset Services has taken control of the site and is moving to engage another contractor to finish the project.
"At this point of time there is an issue surrounding the liquidity of that principal contractor,” a source told the QT.
"We hand over the asset - the station, the location, the grounds and the site - to the principal contractor during construction.
"It is just like when you are building a house, the builder has control of the site it is on. Batir experienced problems, and unfortunately we are the client at the end of the line.
"The fire service, and the taxpayer, is an unintended victim of this company going belly up. But a new contractor will be engaged and the Bundamba fire station will be built.”
The old Bundamba fire station was demolished with the new building set to boast a gym and reclining areas.
The station will house four firefighters and one truck. Although staffing will not increase immediately, the new station is being built to house additional crews. The firefighters moved into a temporary station at the corner of Frederick St and Brisbane Rd.
