CHALLENGES AND REWARDS

 

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Your editor is back! -- After an amazing adventure and a tricky trip home.

Arriving at Paris airport at 6 am was frustrating, as the flight to Perth was delayed by seven hours, which meant (a) waiting for five hours for the check-in counter to open, and (b) the start of a snowball effect, where the delay was followed by more delays, meaning I got to Wellington almost a whole day late.

And somewhat the same sort of snowball effect has happened with our project. While levels 13 and 12 will be returned to proud owners on time, there are delays within the next levels.  As Ken, our chairman, has revealed, dates of leaving apartments and getting back into apartments have changed. 

An interview with Martin Hubbard, our project manager, revealed the reasons for this. A great deal was learned when work began on levels 12 and 13. Configuring the slab tendons proved to be a challenge -- a challenge that took time to solve, but was fixed with very favourable results. Other major discoveries were made, and with their solutions the process is now going smoothly. Asbestos removal is going well, and weather tightness solutions have been found and applied, and are going well too. 

This is resulted in a huge plus.  The finalization date for the project as a whole is going to be almost exactly as planned, which is something quite miraculous in the construction industry.  Right now, the estimate is that the project will finish just eleven working days later than the original estimate.

The schedule changes do mean challenges to shareholders, and Board directors, with Damien and Brigid, are working hard to make this go smoothly, too.

It does mean that some residents will be looking for alternative accommodation to fill in the gap between the original date of reoccupation and the new one. I can recommend Quest Atrium, where I am staying, but with a proviso.  Right now, the apartment building is pretty empty, with plenty of apartments available, but John Chin, the manager, warns me that by November the building will fill up.  So, if that is part of your plan, make sure to get your booking in soon.