THE cost of the Redland Whitewater Centre for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games could be far higher than the $100 million figure circulating in the community, according to Queensland Major Contractors Association (QMCA) CEO Andrew Chapman.
A new 2025 Queensland Major Projects Pipeline report from the Queensland Major Contractors Association estimates the centre’s construction at $250 million, including an engineering value of $182.5 million—significantly higher than early projections of around $60 million.
The figures have raised questions about the true cost of the centre, with industry leaders warning that early estimates can often change significantly as project plans develop.
“These are early estimates, people have put up before, and they’re challenging to be realistic with,” Mr Chapman said.
“As you do more design development, you work out what scope is actually required and then you become more definitive on the numbers.
“Facilities will move—one might have been named at $60 million three years ago, it might be something else.
“Another might be named at $100 million and come in at $60 million. It’s all about what scope is in and out.”
Mr Chapman explained that the $250 million figure is an early estimate that includes both construction costs and additional client costs, such as consultants, land, services, and escalation.
“Your engineering value is basically what it would cost in terms of the construction industry to deliver,” he said.
“Your total value is that plus client costs, escalation, all that kind of stuff.
“Yeah, that’s the way we work our numbers.
“So we look at what the Capex is and then you’ve got a whole client cost—consultants, land, services—all the stuff that may not necessarily be in your construction contract.”
He stressed the figures have not been validated by the Games or state authorities.
“They did not see these numbers. So they’re just a very early estimate on behalf of the QMCA. So, don’t take them as official numbers by GIGAC, that is for sure,” he said,
Benchmarking against similar facilities worldwide guided the early costings.
“Facilities like a stadium—we know how much they cost per seat. You’re going to be pretty close depending on architects, facilities, how big it is, pump work, waterworks, roadworks, earthworks—it’s more challenging to make a definitive estimate at this point. So it’s got a lot of risk, but it’s built into the number,” he said.
Mr Chapman also explained how staged funding allocations were calculated.
The engineering value estimated rising funding allocations of $8m in 2025/26, $18m in 2026/27, $24m in 2027/28, $51m in 2028/29 and $82m in 2029/30.
A three-year construction phase will start from 2027 with an anticipated completion date of 2030.
“With the funding allocation, we have an economist do all our pipeline work,” he said.
“You look at the value, it’s a 3.5-year build or 2.5-year build, and then you run a typical construction S-curve over those numbers.
“That’s how you get the spread of the investment over that period of time.”
He admitted the annual pipeline report is in its first year to include Brisbane 2032 Games infrastructure.
“Next year we’ll be much more refined, and you may see numbers come down. Might be $80 million next year,” he said.
“But at the moment, I put a lot of risk in there, simply because it’s an unknown quantity.
“No one’s built one of these recently in Australia—the last time was Sydney in the 90s.
“Who knows how much water pumps, roadworks, earthworks are needed?
“Over the next 6–12 months, GIGAC will do a lot of work and we’ll be able to refine the numbers and clarify with them.
“The industry will be more comfortable on where those numbers are—across that facility and the entire program.”
Pressed on whether the cost might be closer to $180 million than $60 million, Mr Chapman refused to speculate.
“Oh, I’m not going to put a figure on it at this point,” he said.
“The design work hasn’t been done.
“I’ve seen too many people put early numbers on projects and they are completely wrong.
“I tend to go higher and work my way back.”
