PROGRESS on implementing a management structure for the Nimmie-Caira area has been affected by “ongoing delays”, according to an Auditor-General report released last week.
The environmental water buyback project saw 84,000 hectares and 380,000 megalitres of water bought by the New South Wales Government, after the Australian Government agreed to fund the $180 million endeavour.
It has been in the pipeline since mid-2012, with the land bought in mid-2013 and an expected completion date of mid-2018.
However an audit of the project’s progress to date has found improvements are needed to get the project back on track.
“While initial elements of the Nimmie-Caira project were established soon after the approval by the minister, the progress of the project overall has been affected by ongoing delays,” the report read.
“Early project milestones were not delivered as stipulated in the project schedule and key milestones are overdue.
“The delays are having a cumulative impact that is affecting the sequencing of the project elements and is putting the delivery of the project within the agreed timeframe at risk.”
For more on this story, grab a copy of Monday’s Guardian (April 27).
