Nielsen Park beach upgrades delayed as NSW government fires engineering firm

Construction at the Nielsen Park seawall in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The NSW government has fired the civil engineering firm and an interim company is being brought in to prevent coastal erosion. Photograph: The Guardian

There is no end in sight for construction works at one of Sydney’s most popular beaches after the New South Wales government quietly tore up its contract with a civil engineering firm hired to build a new sea wall without notifying the company.

After months without significant progress at Neilsen Park’s Shark Beach, the state’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) on Thursday evening announced a new contractor would be brought in to prevent coastal erosion over the summer.