The State Government has taken the next step to consult with around 235 businesses potentially affected by the construction of the $354 million, North-South Corridor, Regency Road to Pym Street Project.
The aim is to help minimise disruption and keep a ‘business as usual’ approach once major works begin later this year.
In a first for a major construction project in South Australia, potentially affected businesses will be surveyed with the information collected to be fed into the tender to inform the program of works to minimise disruption and help accommodate these businesses as much as possible.
This process is part of the Marshall Government’s new Small Business Engagement policy released last year.
“We know that businesses can be negatively impacted by major construction projects and more needs to be done to accommodate these businesses as best we can,” said Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Stephan Knoll.
“The previous Labor Government completely dropped the ball on small business when it came to how they were affected by big projects.
“That’s why the Marshall Government developed and is now implementing a new Small Business Engagement policy around these projects.
“We want to help affected businesses keep a ‘business as usual’ approach.
“We began consultation when this project was first announced and we are continuing to reach out earlier in the process to better understand the trading requirements and concerns of affected businesses.
“We will be feeding that information into the tender process so that the successful tenderer has that information at hand to inform their program of works.
“There are a host of measures a contractor can undertake to help minimise disruption during construction of a major project.
“These could range from simple measures including scheduling of works and maintaining better access to businesses, through to helping to deliver a ‘business as usual’ message to the community.
“Major works on the Regency to Pym project are expected to begin later this year so it’s important we get out and consult with these businesses as soon as possible.
“Obviously a certain level of disruption is inevitable, but we can and will do more to minimise that disruption.”
