Developer Errol Stewart said he is still confident the structure will be completed by Christmas, with three months needed do the fit out.

“We have decided to work some overtime between now and year end, probably half a dozen Saturdays. We’ve discussed it with the team to see if we can push to get the structure done by the end of the year,” he said.

“As we do the structure, underneath us everyone is chasing us, the fit out is right behind the structure so no sooner we get up and get the roof on the bathrooms will get completed, the ceilings will be completed, the conditioners will be in.”

While he said he did not want to underestimate the size of the job he hoped to be finished around the same time Boral relocate and the bridge from the seaport to North Bank is completed.

“We probably could have gone faster if we had thrown more guys at it but there are 70 to 80 workers on site already,” Mr Stewart said.

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Financing was a key challenge with uncertainty over the future plans for the area.

“There was a view that it was built in a funny spot, even though it is out on the water, everyone looked at it next to an industrialist work-site despite the fact that the council are going to develop North Bank,” he said.

“It was more difficult getting out of the ground than expected with a lot of piles and concrete and the engineering parameters were challenging with a lot of steel work and concrete … and because its an existing structure that is being add to the new structure the engineers have had to be more conservative.”

Mr Stewart said the tourism industry in the state looked strong and while he would have liked to open in summer, it was still a good time to open in Tasmania.