Work begins on Rogers Stirk Harbour's £3.3bn Barangaroo development

Construction has begun on architect Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners’ £3.3bn Barangaroo development in Sydney Harbour.

New South Wales premier Barry O’Farrell visited the southern end of Barangaroo last week when work officially commenced.

He said of the scheme: “Today marks an important milestone in the transformation of Barangaroo, which is crucial to creating jobs, attracting investment to NSW and giving Sydney one of the best new waterfront developments in the world.

“This project is a shot in the arm for the State’s construction sector – Barangaroo will create 9,000 jobs during construction.”

The harbour makeover has faced considerable public opposition, with critics claiming features such as a 230-metre-tall hotel would resemble “the worst of Dubai ‘look at me’ architecture”.

Mr O’Farrell brushed off such concerns, saying: “The NSW Government has decided to get on with delivering Barangaroo – without any more tinkering of the design of the major features, which are already world class.”

He went on: “This $6 billion transformation is set to reinvigorate Sydney’s position as a global city and financial services hub in the Asia Pacific region and is one of the most significant waterfront redevelopments in the world.

“When complete, 23,000 people will work in the precinct and up to 33,000 people will visit the site each day.

“As well as being a great place to live and visit, Barangaroo will form the newest hub of Sydney’s financial services and it will rival the financial headquarters of Asia.”