![The collapse of Clough throws into doubt the delivery of the Tallawarra B project on Lake Illawarra. The collapse of Clough throws into doubt the delivery of the Tallawarra B project on Lake Illawarra.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/123041529/a9c133b8-39ab-4724-9bea-2c5c74ac46c1.jpg/r0_177_3467_2134_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The collapse of Perth-headquartered engineering contractor Clough has raised questions about time and cost-overruns on the Tallawarra B project.
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Clough and GE in a joint venture were tasked with delivering the LNG-hydrogen power station on the shores of Lake Illawarra.
On Monday night, Clough announced it would place itself in voluntary administration, after a deal for Italian infrastructure firm Webuild to buy it out fell through.
Clough was under pressure as debts and losses mounted. Webuild had proposed a $350 million acquisition of the 100-year-old firm, but the company said in the absence of the sale proceeding, the board would place Clough and its Australian subsidiaries into voluntary administration.
An EnergyAustralia spokesperson said that the collapse of Clough did not imperil the Tallawarra B project.
"We are continuing to review the impact of Clough's administration on Tallawarra B's construction, however the project is in good shape in terms of schedule, procurement of key components and project financials."
CEO of Illawarra industry group i3net Bianca Perry said local subcontractors remained engaged with the project.
"There are a number of Illawarra based businesses currently working on the Tallawarra B Project, who remain committed to assisting with the contribution to a safe and successful delivery of the project."
Tallawarra B in May welcomed the delivery of the power station's turbine, a major milestone for the project. Once complete, the power station will provide 'peaking' electricity at times of high demand generated from natural gas, with the potential to run on green hydrogen.
The EnergyAustralia spokesperson said the project remained on track.
"EnergyAustralia remains committed to the project and we will continue to work with key stakeholders including GE and the Administrators, to enable to the project construction activities to continue and play its part in ensuring the lights stay on in summer 2023/24," the spokesperson said.
With Clough entering voluntary administration, the future of other major infrastructure projects are also up in the air. Clough was a lead contractor on the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project and played a major role in the delivery of Inland Rail, a freight rail line between Melbourne and Brisbane through inland NSW.
Clough appointed Deloitte to go over the company's financials and explore the restructuring of the company.
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