A major commercial building company has been chosen to spearhead the removal of combustible cladding on more than 200 apartment buildings in New South Wales.

NSW Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson has announced that Hansen Yuncken has been selected as the managing contractor to oversee the delivery of the government’s Project Remediate program.

Set to help to remove cladding on an estimated 225 buildings which are known to the state’s Cladding Taskforce to be clad in flammable material, the project has two broad parts.

First, an interest-free loan scheme will help owners to fund remediation work (owners will still need to pay for the work).

Second, an assurance and project management service will assist owners corporations to navigate the process and will help to ensure a safe and durable solution.

It is in this second area that Hansen Yuncken will be involved.

As managing contractor, the firm will:

• Provide technical program leadership to ensure that scoping is done properly, the technical framework in which the work is being performed is being adhered to and that work is properly executed.
• Establish five pre-qualified panels of service providers for the program. These will cover investigation and scoping, design, remediation work and installation, assurance and independent project superintendents
• Guide owners corporations through the remediation process and ensure that owners are informed of work or decisions which impact the building and are consulted on matters such as design, scheduling, safety and building access.

Refer earlier article for a description of how the program will work.

Started in 1918 by Otto Yuncken and Lauritz Hansen, Hansen Yunken is one of Australia’s leading commercial building firms and delivers projects across the office, community, defence, education, fitout/refurbishment, health, accommodation, industrial, justice & police, retail, residential and resource/utilities sector.

Anderson said Hansen Yuncken will oversee the delivery of a world class remediation program.

“The Managing Contractor is fully funded as part of the $139 investment by the NSW Government to provide complete program management for each affected building, making life much easier for strata communities,” Anderson said.

“Flammable cladding remediation isn’t a simple process, and Hansen Yuncken will do the hard work on every owner’s behalf to ensure only safe, compliant design solutions are applied to every building.”

He said the Government’s program provides the best way to remove cladding from NSW’s affected residential buildings.

“Under Project Remediate owners will get an insurable, durable and long-lasting solution for their building and benefit from the economies of scale a managing contractor can deliver.”

“Project Remediate is a gold standard program that will remediate buildings to the highest safety standards.”

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler said the appointment will mean that Hansen Yuncken will coordinate the delivery of safe and compliant and solutions for each building.

“As an industry, this is not a time to cut corners, and Hansen Yuncken will play an important role in ensuring the work is delivered to the highest standards of safety and quality, while supporting building owners and residents,” he said.

“Hansen Yuncken have been delivering high quality projects for over 100-years in Australia, and their appointment should give homeowners confidence that all compliance and regulatory obligations will be met, including site management, safety, and compliance with consent authorities and development conditions.

“Hansen Yuncken also brings high-level digital capabilities which will help in delivering transparent and timely communications, supporting their commitment to a customer service model which ensures owners corporations and strata managers are kept informed at every step of the process.”

The first cladding is expected to removed under the program by the end of this year,

The program has a target completion date of the end of 2023.

Eligible strata communities can register their interest to participate at nsw.gov.au/project-remediate by June 30.