10.5.1  Facility Completion

(a)  For Completion to be achieved, the works (including everything necessary to open the facility for safe, efficient and continuous use) must be completed except for minor defects (as described in section 10.5.6). The private party must do everything required to be done by the Project Contracts (including the Output Specification) as a condition precedent to Completion, including:

(i)  all commissioning tests must have been carried out in accordance with the Output Specifications and the commissioning plan;35

(ii)  all consents, approvals, authorisations and certificates required for the facility to be occupied and used for its intended purposes must have been obtained and complied with;

(iii)  all rubbish, construction machinery, equipment and materials must have been removed from the site and all required remediation work undertaken;

(iv)  the private party must have provided government with all material documents and information required to be provided under the Project Contracts;

(v)  the private party must have provided copies of relevant insurance policies required by the project agreement; and

(vi)  all other tests and requirements required to satisfy the independent verifier that operations (in accordance with Output Specifications) can commence, must have been satisfied.

(b)  Where the private party considers that it has achieved Completion, it must notify the government and independent verifier of its opinion, request that the latter issue the prescribed certificate of Completion and provide both parties with a list of the residual works to be completed to achieve "Close-Out". The independent verifier must issue a 'Certificate of Completion' identifying the Date of Completion and advise of any minor defects remaining outstanding (refer to section 10.6). If the independent verifier does not consider that Completion has been achieved, he/she must promptly notify the private party and government listing the outstanding works if possible.

(c)  The government may trigger this completion process itself if the private party has, in the government's view, reached Completion.

(d)  In certain projects (e.g. tollroads) Completion may occur in 2 or more stages. The civil works may achieve completion first followed later by, for example, tolling system completion. In such a scenario, the government may require the private party to open the road for public use upon civil works completion. However, the private party will only be entitled to levy tolls on users upon completion of the whole of the works (including the tolling system).

(e)  The Certificate of Completion will not of itself be evidence that any works have been carried out in accordance with the project agreement.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
35 The Completion and commissioning tests and generally the criteria for determining whether Completion has been achieved will be agreed as part of the project agreement.