World news – AU – Grocon boss says company is fighting for its life, blames New South Wales government for bankruptcy

South Australian Police have set up a task force to investigate all information provided to state coronavirus contact tracing teams.

Grocon Group President Daniel Grollo says the construction company is fighting for its survival as it prepares to hire directors.

Grocon, which has been operating in Australia for 70 years, declared bankruptcy Friday with officials appointed by Monday..

The company has made many famous developments in recent decades, including Melbourne Casino, Eureka Tower and Rialto Towers..

CEO Mr. Grollo told ABC News that the company’s dwindling balance sheet was due to a multi-million dollar lawsuit with Infrastructure NSW, a state government department, over the Central Barangaroo project in Sydney..

The lawsuit began when Crown Resorts won a lawsuit against INSW over the Grocon Barangaroo project blocking waterfront views..

Grocon is now fighting for $ 270 million in compensation from INSW in the New South Wales Supreme Court, claiming that Barangaroo’s delivery authority withheld information that opinions from Crown and Lendlease Resorts will affect Central Barangaroo’s design.

“We are a family company with a limited balance sheet and we cannot beat a government if that government wants to play under unreasonable rules, and this is what we were exposed to,” Mr. Grollo said..

“Our losses are huge. Our consultants estimate the damage at between $ 60 million and $ 190 million.

An INSW spokesperson said the suggestion that the department « contributed to or caused Grocon’s financial conditions was examined in a ruling of the New South Wales Supreme Court in September 2020. ».

“The judgment in favor of Infrastructure NSW found that Grocon’s financial position preceded their participation in Central Barangaroo,” they said.

Mr Grollow said it would be impossible for the company to fight the NSW government in court any longer.

“We want to call it, we want to share our place with our creditors,” he said.

“We paid $ 400 million [for the Central Barangaroo project], won the project; they (INSW) made a deal with someone else on our account..

Grocon’s Ribbon development at Sydney’s Darling Harbor and Northumberland development in Collingwood, Melbourne will not be included in the administrative entities.

Mr Grollo said he understood that subcontractors for the Northumberland project in Collingwood were frustrated that they had not been paid in months, but he said that was because Grocon had not been paid since May due to a legal dispute with INSW.

Mr Grollo said that if his grandfather Luigi, who founded Grocon, was alive today, he believed the NSW government « is not playing an equitable role ».

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Grocon, Daniel Grollo, Construction, Infrastructure NSW, Administration, Government of New South Wales