Crumbling Opal Tower in Sydney sparks blame game - New Zealand Herald

Experts have come out swinging over the "boom-burdened" building industry in major cities, saying Sydney's cracking Opal Tower is part of a much wider problem.

But now the developer of the Olympic Park building has hit back, saying any suggestion the damage points to "a broader pattern in the industry" is completely wrong.

"The city's 'development boom' has not led to cutting of corners," Ecove director Bassam Aflak said in a statement this morning. "There has been no cutting of corners."

Aflak's comments come after waterproofing consultant Ross Taylor wrote a controversial opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Taylor said while it was too early to tell who was at fault, a pattern had been emerging industry-wide.

He details problems with a high-rise down the road that had not made front page news because the structural failure was more gradual.

Taylor said the balconies started sagging gradually after residents moved in — some as much as 180mm.

"As a result, cracks have opened up, water runs away from the outlets and pools on the balconies," he said.

"Such stories are being lived throughout our apartment boom-burdened major cities by owners who suspected nothing when they bought. Culprits and scapegoats for these and other defects are sometimes found but root causes are rarely identified."

Many residents from the 36-storey building which was evacuated on Christmas Eve are still stranded.

Emergency services were called to the Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park on Monday after those living in the recently completed building heard and saw cracking in a wall throughout the morning.

Remedial work has been under way to fix "what appears to be one failed panel".

That prefabricated concrete panel was made nearby by a company that turns over $65 million a year supplying a range of such precast products to commercial builders, The Australian reports.

Aflak said Ecove's focus was ensuring residents were getting all the care and support possible.

"Part of that is getting them accurate information as soon as we can and reconfirming that the building is safe," he said.

He said they were pushing as hard as everyone else for information on what had happened.

Experts have come out swinging, saying Sydney's cracking Opal Tower is part of a much wider problem. Photo / Supplied

"It's a high-quality building. Ecove has delivered a project that is well above the industry standard.

"It's too early to leap to any conclusions, for instance, to speculate on wider building issues because of what appears to be one failed panel.

"The builder and the authorities are working flat out to root out the problem. The builder has advised us to expect feedback from their engineers shortly.

"Importantly, the authorities have deemed the building safe."

He said the project had allowed the delivery of more than A$30 million ($31.5m) of infrastructure to improve the Sydney Olympic Park community with parklands, a water quality control system that cleans the stormwater run-off, wheelchair accessible pathways to Bicentennial Park, a footbridge and underpass beneath the rail line.

Residents have said they don't plan to renew their leases. Some had only just moved in and said they regretted signing longer agreements.

Others who don't live in the building have shared their thoughts on the area's safety.

"If you look at the photo closely you can see how the Opal Tower is leaning to the right compared to the other towers," wrote one person on Twitter.

"This building needs to be demolished and the childcare centre needs to be shutdown ASAP; this building is not safe!"

"Will #Sydney become the new equivalent of the #GoldCoast after their #property bust many years ago? Looks like many more defective Sydney buildings will crash in value. Nobody sane would buy at Opal Tower in #Olympicpark," wrote another man.

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