Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre redevelopment set to be put on hold despite $30m already spent

The stalled redevelopment of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre looks set to be officially put on hold, with the Cook Government not prepared to sink at least $1.6 billion into the project. It’s understood the government remains hugely concerned that taking on the redevelopment — mainly paid for by WA taxpayers — would put at risk $3.4b in election promises such as new emergency departments at Royal Perth, Midland and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals. While the government is remaining tight-lipped about the project, it is under considerable pressure from the tourism and hospitality sectors to go ahead in order to further tap into the lucrative national and international business events industry. There had also been hopes that a redeveloped precinct might also become home to a hotel and housing developments, as well as become a new base for mining giant Rio Tinto. The Sunday Times understands that in past weeks, the government and joint lease-holders Brookfield and the Wylie Group have been trying to find new ways of making this project happen, with a scaled down redevelopment, or a staged redevelopment considered. But it’s understood the most likely scenario is that the project will be put on ice, with Premier Roger Cook most likely to make an official announcement on the project’s fate in coming weeks. “The Government is undertaking due diligence and working through costings on the proposal ahead of a final decision,” a State Government spokesperson on Saturday said. The State Government has already poured more than $30 million in developing plans for the redevelopment of the PCEC, which is generally considered an eyesore and too small to attract big international and interstate conventions. Initial designs show a no-expense spared approach to the redevelopment, with not just a revamped convention centre, but riverside theatre, public ampitheatre, floating stage and screen, new ferry terminal and new integrated road networks, a new bridge to Elizabeth Quay and changes to the train station and William Street. Hopes of doing the redevelopment in time for the LNG 2029 conference now appear to have faded. Planned road closures that the City of Perth warned would create CBD traffic bedlam — first revealed by The Sunday Times in August — to compensate for first construction works have to date failed to materialise. Tourism Council WA boss Evan Hall and new Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds this week publicly talked up the redevelopment’s significant benefits. “PCEC is the oldest centre of any Australian capital city — every other State has expanded its convention centre to create jobs and diversify their economy,” Mr Hall said. ‘Perth is now losing jobs, events and business tourism to cities like Adelaide and Brisbane, which have expanded their convention centre capacity. “Perth Airport’s expansion will deliver an extra four million passengers, but PCEC is already at capacity. While we’ve seen major investment in the airport, stadium, arena and hotels, the missing piece is the long-overdue expansion of our main business events venue. “Expanding Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre will bring bigger events, but also bigger returns. An upgraded venue could bring in 70,000 extra delegates and inject more than $180 million into the WA economy every year, funding jobs, hospitals and schools for decades to come.” “Convention centres are the ports of the business tourism industry. When you run out of capacity, you don’t just lose events. You lose jobs, income and the tax dollars that keep hospitals, housing and social services running.” Mr Reynolds said the proposed redevelopment of the PCEC was a “significant project for the city and State”.’ “It has the potential to bring more visitors to WA and provide a welcome boost to our economy,” he said. The Sunday Times understands the Perth City Council was informally approached about putting funds into the project. But Cr Reynolds denied this: “The City hasn’t been approached to provide funding for the project.”