14 March 2008
Auditors have praised the second stage of procurement for the Welsh Assembly's new building, the Senedd, after the controversy-hit scheme was put on hold in 2001.
The Assembly suspended construction four years into the project and sacked its architect, the Richard Rogers Partnership, after forecast costs shot up.
But in a report published on March 12, the Wales Audit Office said the restarted scheme — launched in 2002 — had largely met its objectives, with final outturn costs of £70m against a revised estimate of £66m.
A six-month delay in completing the building was due mainly to IT-related problems. There were delays in producing a full IT specification and negotiations for procurement of the Assembly's new Merlin IT system were extended. More time was also needed to install cabling and supporting infrastructure, which in turn held up construction, the auditors found.
The report praises the fixed-price design and build procurement route adopted for the second phase, along with a new project management and governance structure.
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