$20m hotel project endures another delay

Works on the $20 million luxury hotel set to be built in the centre of Karratha have been delayed yet again, despite the project developer previously stating it would start last month. The latest update from private Queensland-based company Pacifica Developments stated site preparation for the Hilton Garden Inn would begin before Christmas and on-site construction was expected to start in February. The large-scale project, which the City of Karratha has committed $10m for, was originally expected to begin construction in April, but was set back by the onset of COVID-19, with builders struggling to guarantee their supply chain. Its design phase also dragged on for months, with the company not finishing the final details until the end of 2019, almost one year after the initial target date. Pacifica Developments told the Pilbara News in September that on-site construction of the Hilton Garden Inn would begin last month and would last about a year. The four-star hotel will be built at The Quarter in the Karratha CBD and will consist of three levels and 100 rooms to attract a wider demographic to the Pilbara town. Pacifica Developments project manager John Zendler said the company was focused on building a quality product for the region. “Our process is always do it right, rather than do it quick,” he said. “A hotel, especially a Hilton branded hotel, is a very complex building so we’re more focused on owning a quality building for the long term. “The hotel business is not a build and sell; it’s build and hold, especially in a town like Karratha so we’re very focused on getting a finished hotel rather than a started hotel, so we’re taking as much time as is necessary to make sure carefully considered decisions are under way. A City of Karratha spokesperson said the organisation understood that because of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions Pacifica had to revise the delivery of the project which had led to a delay. “The City is looking forward to the hotel further activating Karratha’s city centre, generating local jobs and offering visitors high-end accommodation,” they said. The project was granted planning approval by the Kimberley Pilbara Gascoyne Joint Development Assessment Panel last year with 13 conditions, the most critical stating the agreement was only valid for a period of two years and would lapse if the development had not substantially begun in that time.