THE future of the Birubi Beach Resort has again been cast in doubt after Quick Home Australia - the company contracted in 2011 to construct the $50 million four-star beachside development - last week launched a civil action in the NSW Supreme Court against the resort's Chinese financier.
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Last Friday QHA and its parent company Quick Home Hong Kong (QHHK) began a commercial legal challenge against China Security and Surveillance Technology (CSST).
Work at the landmark development has stalled since the end of February and the latest move comes after QHA was forced into liquidation in June this year with a list of creditors owed almost $1 million.
Those creditors include subcontracted companies based in One Mile Beach, Rutherford and Newcastle, all related to work on the Gan Gan Road development.
The two parties are due to meet for a pre-trial hearing in Sydney tomorrow and while representatives from QHA are refusing to comment, the Examiner understands the company is alleging the Chinese financier owes it upwards of $1 million in outstanding invoices and construction delay costs.
The Examiner also understands QHA is claiming ownership of the prefabricated building modules used at the resort, something CSST disputes. ASIC documents value the modules at more than $4.6 million.
The latest setback on the resort's completion comes more than a year after the Examiner first revealed contractors had placed the site in lockdown because of significant delays in payment for work completed on the site. Since then work has been completed fitfully and in an emailed statement Birubi Beach Resort (BBR) director Caroline Wright conceded the dispute had led to the project being "significantly delayed".
"Unfortunately CSST has had a number of contractual disputes with QHHK and QHA," she said.
"These [disputes] do not directly involve BBR but of course they effect [sic] BBR by delaying the construction process."
Ms Wright would not comment directly on the case, but insisted she had "every reason to believe that the resort will be successfully completed".
"CSST has contingency plans for the construction and installation of the balance for the modules," she said.
"It is expected that installation of the modules currently in Australia will resume in the very near future."
And while the legal challenges again appear to place questions on the viability of the troubled BBR development, Ms Wright continued to insist there were no problems with the finances of the resort.
Do you know more? mmcgowan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
