Sir Robert McAlpine has been chosen as preferred contractor for the troubled Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) scheme in Cardiff.
Sir Robert McAlpine and centre bosses are now due to agree a fixed price for the Cardiff Bay arts headquarters development, with projected costs varying between £60m and £90m.
Centre directors must now attract a multi-million-pound cash shortfall from the private sector before the Welsh Assembly invests a figure thought to be around £50m.
The future of the WMC had been thrown into doubt when would-be contractor Carillion pulled out of the bidding claiming that a fixed price project was too risky. It is likely that Sir Robert McAlpine will drive a hard bargain, picking up the extra cost if the total bill for the centre tops £90m.
Jenny Randerson, Assembly Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language, said: “I am pleased that the Wales Millennium Centre is now embarking on the final phase before construction starts with the preferred contractor. It is an important step forward in the development of the WMC. I am glad to see it pressing ahead confidently.”
The centre will be a concert venue and will house the Welsh National Opera company and the Urdd youth movement.
EGi News 06/08/01
