An Australian building contractor has blamed a mould problem with modular buildings at the now-mothballed Manus Island immigration detention centre on the operators.
A 15-month AAP investigation revealed air-conditioning caused water damage and mould to grow in the walls, ceilings and floors of the modular buildings at the staff accommodation at both the Papua New Guinean and Nauru centres.
Construction firm Decmil had the $247 million contract to expand Manus Island, which ran from December 2013 to April 2015.
AAP understands the mould problem on Manus Island "was not even one-tenth as bad as it was on Nauru".
On Nauru, building contractors conducted a "band-aid" rectification program at a "cost plus variation" to their contract because one building contractor was allegedly commercially exposed, a source said.
Whereas on Manus, Decmil wore an estimated $25 million loss because the modular buildings had to be gutted and rebuilt entirely, a source said.
The company took legal action against the supplier of the buildings, Ark Modular Structures, an Australian shell company for a Chinese firm, which was referred to arbitration.
"The dispute has arisen due to the deficiencies in the material supplied and work performed by Ark Modular," the Decmil annual report of 2015 stated.
A Decmil company spokesman insisted the deficiencies had nothing to do with mould and the dispute related to commercial and engineering disagreements.
The dispute ended up in the Queensland Supreme Court in 2016.
Court documents obtained by AAP show Ark had an agreement with Decmil - but no tender - to deliver 180 accommodation modular buildings for the detention centre.
At the time, the Australian government was spending almost $75,000 a night housing centre staff on a floating hotel and was in a hurry for permanent accommodation to be built.
In April 2014, Decmil suspended the construction of 144 modular buildings and the remaining 36 units were completed by November.
Ark claimed Decmil owed it close to $4.9 million including abortive costs after "descoping" the project mid-contract.
Meanwhile, Decmil was pursuing Ark for about $63,000 for the cost of failed arbitration.
The Queensland Supreme Court ordered Ark Australia be wound up in insolvency.
In 2015, it emerged three staff from Decmil and a department official went on a $44,000 four-day junket to China which included first class airfares, a $400 bottle of scotch and female escorts. The trip was to inspect Ark China's factory.
A Home Affairs Department spokesman said construction work on both islands was carried out and certified to relevant building codes and standards including fire compliance.
The Australian Greens called for an urgent investigation by Comcare, the public service workers compensation authority.
The compromised fire-rated boards could have put lives at risk in the event of a blaze, and the same buildings were used in the Nauru Hospital upgrade and community centre, which also went mouldy.
At least a dozen former Nauru detention centre workers developed health problems from mould exposure.
Share
