A city renowned for its man-made landmarks, Canberra will soon add another iconic structure to its skyline.
Canberra Daily can exclusively unveil the local and federal governments will later today announce that a 50/50 joint-funded ‘Mount Ainslie Tower’, a 1:1 replica of Black Mountain Tower, will be constructed over the next decade.
The $120 million project is something of a backflip from the Federal Government, after their infrastructure pipeline outlined in Tuesday’s budget was criticised for neglecting the ACT.
“With a city-defining, life-changing project like this coming down the pike, Canberrans would be mad to remove the Liberal representation they currently maintain on the Hill,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Canberra Daily.
Due for completion by the end of the decade, Mount Ainslie Tower will serve visually as a ‘twin’ to the iconic Black Mountain Tower, and will be built to the exact specifications of the 195m colossus.
“In the 40 years since Black Mountain Tower opened to the public it has become a revered landmark immediately associated with Canberra; so much so it’s now mentioned in the same air as the Empire State Building, Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
“At least by Canberrans, that is.
“We hope that by building a ‘twin’ structure on the nearby Mount Ainslie we can further establish its legacy and, practically speaking, provide better mobile phone reception to Canberra’s Inner North. “
It is hoped the tower will relieve Ainslie residents of the notorious mobile phone reception issues that have plagued the affluent inner-north suburb since the widespread adoption of the technology in the 1990s.
This is due to the fact Mount Ainslie is solid volcanic rock, with resident groups over the years turning down opportunities to have smaller reception towers built in the suburb itself, as it would “ruin the vista”.
“Sure, it’ll improve our quality of life here, but it will be an eyesore,” an Ainslie resident, Nigel Ignatius Maxwell Brandon York, said.
“Whatever happens, if it diminishes the value of the $3 million home I paid $100,000 for in 1993, I’ll be banging down the door of whoever signed off on this.”
Mr Barr said a planned third ‘triplet’ tower atop Red Hill to complement the triangular design of central Canberra would be “a project for the 2040s”.
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