The cost of the new Sydney Football Stadium will be at least $99 million higher than originally planned, the NSW government has admitted.

Construction giant John Holland was on Wednesday confirmed as the new contractor for the Moore Park stadium’s construction after Lendlease in July walked away from the beleaguered project.

Lendlease had originally been earmarked for both the stadium’s demolition and reconstruction but only performed the former role.

The NSW government has now awarded a $735 million contract to John Holland for the stadium build, scheduled for completion in 2022 ahead of the 2022 NRL grand final.

That would lift the total estimated cost for the new stadium to $828 million – almost $100 million higher than the government’s initial $729 million budget.

“While the estimated total cost for this build is higher than what we originally anticipated, it is much better value than what we would have achieved had we not gone back to the market,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a statement.

“It is important to deliver the world class stadium we promised to attract the best events to our state.”

The coalition government came under scrutiny in July after it revealed the offer from Lendlease to rebuild the stadium did not meet its expectations.

Ms Berejiklian admitted there had never been a construction contract in place despite previous announcements Lendlease was “the construction contractor”.

Demolition of the old Sydney Football Stadium will be completed by the end of the year, and NSW planning minister Rob Stokes says the rebuild has received planning approval.