Sydney's Opal Tower declared safe after eight-year remediation saga
The Opal Tower high-rise in western Sydney has been officially declared defect-free following years of repairs, legal battles and compensation for residents.
Cracks discovered on level 10 of the Opal Tower in western Sydney on Christmas Eve 2018 prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and the shutdown of nearby transport links. Over the next eight years, owners, the developer Ecove, Japanese partner Kajina Corporation, engineers WSP and builder Icon collaborated on extensive repairs, while a class action and two court cases pursued compensation. The Opal Tower Owners Corporation, led by Shady Eskander, announced the building is now defect-free, backed by a 20-year structural warranty approved by the NSW government.
All owners have received compensation and legal matters are resolved. Residents such as Nutan Borkar, who spent 11 months displaced, expressed relief at the building’s return to normalcy. The episode spurred broader building-standard reforms across New South Wales.
