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Latest Update
(Back to top)January 2023
Work is back at the Powerhouse Parramatta site and there is lots happening. The third and final crane has been installed, Building A and Building B are underway and service works continue in Dirrabarri Lane and Wilde Avenue.
From 30 January, out of hours deliveries for oversized deliveries of steel will begin.
Read the January 2023 newsletter for details.
More information
For more information, visit the Powerhouse Parramatta website insw.com/powerhouseparramatta
To subscribe to Powerhouse Parramatta updates and newsletters click here
Sign up to receive updates on the Powerhouse Parramatta. (confirmsubscription.com)
Contact the Powerhouse Parramatta project team
For construction-related questions, feedback or complaints: call
1800 574 931 or email powerhouse@lendlease.com
December 2022
Tower crane delivery and nightworks 12 December 2022 to 7 January 2023
Construction activity is well underway at the Powerhouse Parramatta project site. The next phase of construction involves the installation of the final free-standing tower crane (Tower crane 3) to assist with the movement of heavy materials on site.
Tower crane 3 is scheduled to be established in two stages from Monday 12 December 2022 to Saturday 7 January 2023:
Stage one: Monday 12 December to Wednesday 21 December 2022
Deliveries, static base and tower installation.
Stage two: Wednesday 4 January to Saturday 7 January 2023
Remaining crane and commissioning.
It is a TfNSW requirement that deliveries of this size occur out of hours. Traffic control will be in place to support vehicle movements.
Deliveries will take place between 3.30am and 5.30am on all days (except Sunday). Trucks will be parked up until 7am for unloading.
All other construction activities will be carried out during the approved construction hours:
• Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm
• Saturday, 8am to 1pm.
Water main works 12 – 16 December including nightworks
Construction activity is well underway at the Powerhouse Parramatta project site. The next phase of construction involves connecting pipework to the water main located on Phillip Street to supply water to the site.
Work to install and commission the water connections is scheduled from Monday 12 to Friday 16 December (weather permitting) with work to take place between 8pm and 4am.
Work on Phillip Street will require partial road closures. At the completion of each stage of work, the work zone will be removed, and work areas protected to allow normal operation of Phillip Street during the day.
Strict environmental and planning controls are in place to manage noise, dust and vibration.
Click here Water main connection (insw.com) for more details on the planned works.
More information
For more information, visit the Powerhouse Parramatta website insw.com/powerhouseparramatta
To subscribe to Powerhouse Parramatta updates and newsletters click here
Sign up to receive updates on the Powerhouse Parramatta. (confirmsubscription.com)
Contact the Powerhouse Parramatta project team
For construction-related questions, feedback or complaints: call
1800 574 931 or email powerhouse@lendlease.com
October 2022
Work at site is progressing with approximately 35,000 tonnes of soil removed off-site and 230 piles drilled and installed.
Work has begun on the Hydraulic Formwork Systems including the construction of the three concrete cores that will contain the lifts and stairs of the building.
Work on three new substations, sewer and stormwater continues in Dirrabarri Lane.
In September, the first of three tower cranes was installed with the remaining two cranes scheduled for installation in November and December.
One of the cranes joining the Powerhouse Parramatta site is a Favelle Favco M2480D – the world’s largest luffing crane. The M2480D will lift 100 tonnes to a 45-meter radius with around 130 meters of hook height and no support ties.
Upcoming construction activities: October - November
- Tower crane 2 to be installed
- Concrete placement to foundation structure
- Formwork systems added to building cores
- Structural steel install.
For more information and the latest updates visit
June 2022
Following a competitive tender process Lendlease Building has been appointed the main construction works contract and is now responsible for managing the site. See the Latest Updates for more information.
Read the June 2022 Construction update from Infrastructure NSW.
For more information:
See the Library section on the Infrastructure NSW website or subscribe to receive project updates.
Ask a question using the details below:
Email: powerhouse@lendlease.com
Phone: 1800 574 931
New museum and cultural precinct to transform Parramatta
(Back to top)City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Andrew Wilson has welcomed the State Government’s commitment to establishing a new flagship Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) in the heart of Sydney’s Central City.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the State’s largest museum will be built on the Parramatta riverbank. With 18,000 sqm of exhibition and public spaces, it will have a science and technology focus and include the largest planetarium in Australia.
This will be complemented by a dedicated play and learning space devoted to STEAM, children’s spaces, cafes, bars, retail, and event and function spaces.
The museum, which will open in 2023, will be an anchor for a new arts and cultural precinct in Parramatta, which will include revamped Riverside Theatres and a new pedestrian bridge across the river.
In 2017, the City of Parramatta Council and the NSW Government signed a Heads of Agreement (or contract) for Council’s Riverbank site and to create a new cultural precinct on the Parramatta River.
Under the Agreement, the NSW Government will pay Council $140 million for the Riverbank site, otherwise known to locals as the old David Jones carpark site.
$100 million will be invested to enlarge and enhance the Riverside Theatres
Council used the agreement to leverage proceeds of its land sale to fund enhancements and upgrades to Riverside Theatres on the current theatre site.
The remaining $40 million will be used over 20 years to deliver Council’s 2017-2021 Cultural Plan.
Great cultural, education and other community benefits for locals and visitors
Council’s consultation to develop a Cultural Plan showed that attracting the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and growing Riverside Theatres were the communities’ two key cultural priorities.
A world class museum in Parramatta will be an important new focus for cultural and education development. Together, the Museum and the enhanced and enlarged Riverside Theatres will be first class educational resources for students as well as vibrant forums for local cultural industry development.
The cultural precinct is predicted to be both a local and an international tourist destination with the potential to draw up to one million visitors a year.
The cultural precinct will be a big stimulus for our local economy and jobs
Modelling by Deloitte shows that by 2028 the new cultural precinct will grow the local economy by between $106 million and $422 million (NPV).
Employment is also expected to increase strongly both in the construction and operational phases of the new precinct. Once the museum is operational, local jobs are expected to increase by between 150 and 600 new full-time equivalent jobs.
Riverside Theatres legacy will be protected
While Riverside is much loved, a number of studies have shown that the theatre is aged, lacks accessibility, has limits to its capacity to attract a full range of productions and requires improved facilities.
Through the Heads of Agreement, Council has set out a number of requirements that will ensure Riverside’s legacy continues including that:
- The theatre must build on the valued brand of the existing Riverside Theatres
- It must seek to maintain its connection with current audiences and continue to provide opportunity for educational and cultural industry development
- It must be of architectural distinction, design excellence and twenty-first century functionality
- It must meet future demand for high quality diverse local, Australian and global performance
- It must meet certain operational financial performance conditions.
Further, Council will retain ownership of the Riverside Theatres land.
Ratepayers will benefit as well
The Riverbank site is being sold for $140 million, which is in line with Council’s commercial valuations of the land.
Council acquired the site for around $40 million of cash and through a negotiated agreement with a developer. In the Heads of Agreement, Council has agreed that $100 million of the proceeds will be invested in the enhanced Riverside Theatres.
Council has agreed it will invest the remaining cash of $40 million to implement the Cultural Plan over the next 20 years.
Further information
(Back to top)City of Parramatta Media Release: World-class cultural icon for Sydney’s central city
NSW Government Media Release: Western Sydney becomes a cultural powerhouse
NSW Government New Powerhouse fact sheet (PDF, 4.83 MB)
Letter and Advice Committee (PDF, 583.59 KB)
Museum Relocation Business Impacts Study (PDF, 1.29 MB)
