Post by corsair67 on Dec 24, 2005 12:12:35 GMT 12
Adelaide has a brand spanking new airport terminal that nobody can use yet: even though it was officially opened by John Howard nearly 3 months ago!
And how's QANTAS' form in charging for something that passengers weren't using?
Great news too: my Super Fund (UniSuper) is an owner of Adelaide Airport, so it's tied up in this whole fiasco as well!
Blame flies, jets don't, in airport fiasco
Jeremy Roberts
December 24, 2005.
THE construction company that built Adelaide's new $260million airport terminal has blamed a Victorian supplier for contaminating the aircraft refuelling system and sparking a crisis that has left the facility almost empty 76 days after it was opened by John Howard.
Lead construction contractor Hansen and Yuncken's decision to pass the blame for the fiasco to pump-maker Flowserve is the first shot to be fired in what is expected to become a massive legal battle for Adelaide Airport Limited, as it attempts to recoup more than $5million in losses stemming from the delay.
Testing of the underground fuel pipes in early November by aviation fuel supplier Exxon Mobil, on behalf of its partners, BP and Shell, revealed that an anti-rust agent had infected the system. The oil company has since demanded additional testing of the pipes, giving them the all-clear only last Saturday.
The entire system is now undergoing a flush-out that will delay its use by aircraft until early next month, at best. "When we are dealing with aircraft fuel we would not put (anti-rust treatment) in there," Hansen and Yuncken chief executive Peter Kennedy told The Weekend Australian yesterday.
"All parties were aware of what it was being used for ... I would say it is just someone making a mistake."
He said the company was not contemplating legal action, yet. "In the fullness of time this issue will have to be addressed."
Hansen and Yuncken subcontracted the building of the fuel- delivery system to Adelaide firm Ottoway Engineering.
The system was to be a drawcard for the new terminal, ending the use of fuel tankers in favour of an underground network of several kilometres of pipes connected to six pumps at a central fuel dump.
Ottoway Engineering subcontracted Flowserve's pump-making division in Castlemaine, Victoria, to supply the powerful centrifugal pumps crucial to the system.
Flowserve is a US-based global conglomerate of equipment manufacturers, which acquired Australian pump-maker Thompsons, Kelly and Lewis last year.
Australian sales manager Anthony Grage admitted Flowserve staff had applied the anti-rust treatment to the inside of the pumps before they were trucked to Adelaide.
"It is a standard treatment and was applied in accordance with the specifications of a pump of that type," he said. "If it was not applied, the pumps would have rusted."
He said no legal action was in train and "we do not have a dispute with our customer".
Adelaide Airport Limited is a private company, 81per cent owned by three superannuation funds: UniSuper, representing university staff; the Motor Traders Association of Australia Superannuation Fund; and the Local Government Superannuation Board of South Australia.
Each fund has representatives on the AAL board.
AAL managing director Phil Baker refused to comment on whether AAL would pursue legal action against its contractors.
Since the terminal's official opening, AAL has gone from being hailed as the "shining light" for South Australia's tourism industry to the authors of a "fiasco".
A week-long series of opening celebrations at the terminal building in early October, including a fashion parade and a visit by Adelaide-born NASA astronaut Andy Thomas, was designed to paint Adelaide as a cosmopolitan and modern city.
But as the crisis deepened through to this month it has ended up doing exactly the opposite, reinforcing concerns among South Australians about how their state is viewed elsewhere in Australia.
This week Qantas was embroiled in the saga, admitting it had been collecting a $5.50 construction levy from passengers from November 1 to December 9.
Qantas will attempt to refund the money to passengers, collected to cover the construction costs of the new terminal, even though passengers were still tramping through the widely despised old terminal.
And how's QANTAS' form in charging for something that passengers weren't using?
Great news too: my Super Fund (UniSuper) is an owner of Adelaide Airport, so it's tied up in this whole fiasco as well!
Blame flies, jets don't, in airport fiasco
Jeremy Roberts
December 24, 2005.
THE construction company that built Adelaide's new $260million airport terminal has blamed a Victorian supplier for contaminating the aircraft refuelling system and sparking a crisis that has left the facility almost empty 76 days after it was opened by John Howard.
Lead construction contractor Hansen and Yuncken's decision to pass the blame for the fiasco to pump-maker Flowserve is the first shot to be fired in what is expected to become a massive legal battle for Adelaide Airport Limited, as it attempts to recoup more than $5million in losses stemming from the delay.
Testing of the underground fuel pipes in early November by aviation fuel supplier Exxon Mobil, on behalf of its partners, BP and Shell, revealed that an anti-rust agent had infected the system. The oil company has since demanded additional testing of the pipes, giving them the all-clear only last Saturday.
The entire system is now undergoing a flush-out that will delay its use by aircraft until early next month, at best. "When we are dealing with aircraft fuel we would not put (anti-rust treatment) in there," Hansen and Yuncken chief executive Peter Kennedy told The Weekend Australian yesterday.
"All parties were aware of what it was being used for ... I would say it is just someone making a mistake."
He said the company was not contemplating legal action, yet. "In the fullness of time this issue will have to be addressed."
Hansen and Yuncken subcontracted the building of the fuel- delivery system to Adelaide firm Ottoway Engineering.
The system was to be a drawcard for the new terminal, ending the use of fuel tankers in favour of an underground network of several kilometres of pipes connected to six pumps at a central fuel dump.
Ottoway Engineering subcontracted Flowserve's pump-making division in Castlemaine, Victoria, to supply the powerful centrifugal pumps crucial to the system.
Flowserve is a US-based global conglomerate of equipment manufacturers, which acquired Australian pump-maker Thompsons, Kelly and Lewis last year.
Australian sales manager Anthony Grage admitted Flowserve staff had applied the anti-rust treatment to the inside of the pumps before they were trucked to Adelaide.
"It is a standard treatment and was applied in accordance with the specifications of a pump of that type," he said. "If it was not applied, the pumps would have rusted."
He said no legal action was in train and "we do not have a dispute with our customer".
Adelaide Airport Limited is a private company, 81per cent owned by three superannuation funds: UniSuper, representing university staff; the Motor Traders Association of Australia Superannuation Fund; and the Local Government Superannuation Board of South Australia.
Each fund has representatives on the AAL board.
AAL managing director Phil Baker refused to comment on whether AAL would pursue legal action against its contractors.
Since the terminal's official opening, AAL has gone from being hailed as the "shining light" for South Australia's tourism industry to the authors of a "fiasco".
A week-long series of opening celebrations at the terminal building in early October, including a fashion parade and a visit by Adelaide-born NASA astronaut Andy Thomas, was designed to paint Adelaide as a cosmopolitan and modern city.
But as the crisis deepened through to this month it has ended up doing exactly the opposite, reinforcing concerns among South Australians about how their state is viewed elsewhere in Australia.
This week Qantas was embroiled in the saga, admitting it had been collecting a $5.50 construction levy from passengers from November 1 to December 9.
Qantas will attempt to refund the money to passengers, collected to cover the construction costs of the new terminal, even though passengers were still tramping through the widely despised old terminal.
