Council knew of Ri-Con’s problems before Christmas
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RI-CON Contractors’ collapse into liquidation is likely to only have a “minimal” effect on Gympie Regional Council, a spokeswoman said yesterday.
She said the council heard about the collapse on Monday but was “aware Ri-Con was experiencing some difficulty prior to Christmas and spoke to Ri-Con regarding council’s concerns of the impact this may have on local contractors”.
The group, which won tenders for work including the Youth Precinct and Kilkivan Equestrian Centre, was wound up Monday.
It owed $3 million to subcontractors when it collapsed.
The council spokeswoman defended the decision to award the Youth Precinct tender to Ri-Con despite the group being penalised for breaching the Building Act.
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“At that time Ri-Con was financially stable, passed the due diligence checks, and had previously delivered a number of successful projects for council,” she said.
CEO Bernard Smith said the collapse was “disappointing given Ri-Con had successfully delivered a number of projects for council.
“The financial difficulties which have arisen for Ri-Con have not been caused by Gympie Regional Council projects, however it is very unfortunate that local subcontractors have been caught up in the matter,” he said.
The council has paid all of Ri-Con’s accounts for work completed.
