A design image for the theatre,dubbed the New Performing Arts Venue. December’s budget papers revealed the total contribution from the state had jumped,taking the project cost to $175 million.
The “world-class” addition to the centre,dubbed the New Performing Arts Venue,was first announced in May 2019 and expected to allow an extra 300,000 visitors to see 260 more performances a year,with a glass facade,new studio spaces and transparent foyer areas.
It was expected to cost $150 million,including a $25 million contribution from QPAC,in what was hailed as the largest investment in the state’s arts infrastructure since the Gallery of Modern Art in 2013. Completion was “targeted” for 2022.
This target became the end of 2022 in December’s budget papers,which revealed the total contribution from the state hadjumped by an additional $25 million,taking the entire project cost to $175 million.
But speaking from the site on Thursday to provide an update on the development,which began in mid-2020,QPAC chief executive John Kotzas said work was “travelling on time”,with the theatre always intended to open in 2023.
A design concept image released last year for the new South Bank theatre’s Russell Street facade.
“There’s work that has to be done,once the building is completed,for us to actually have all the mechanisms working,” he said,referring to a “state-of-the-art ... electronic flying system” designed to hoist items in and out of the theatre’s performance space.
Despite an opening date in 2023 not previously having been mentioned,Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch reiterated an opening date early that year,saying the 2022 date was only when construction was expected to finish.