The state's top infrastructure advisers are encouraging developers planning Sydney's new convention centre precinct to tear down the much-maligned monorail.
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Infrastructure NSW is drafting plans to redevelop the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in partnership with one of three consortiums on a shortlist for the multimillion-dollar building contract.
A final tender round will be released in March but senior government sources say the organisation is happy to see the monorail's ageing infrastructure removed if it is missing from the design of the winning bidder.
The chairman of Infrastructure NSW, Nick Greiner, who inherited the monorail when he was elected premier in 1988, and its chief executive, Paul Broad, have told those around them they expect the monorail to be pulled down.
The Herald has been told that bidders regard the 3.6-kilometre circuit as a constraint on the scope of the redevelopment.
A source from one consortium said no decision had been made ''but the word from the government is 'don't let the monorail constrain your thinking' ''.
''Conversely they say the light rail is quite important.''
The monorail has stations at the convention centre and the entertainment centre car parks so a big redevelopment involving full or partial demolition was always going to raise questions about the monorail's future. Demolition of the monorail would require buying the line back, or at the least paying for the cost of dismantling parts of it.
The convention centre precinct is bordered by Cockle Bay to the north, Harbour Street to the east, Hay Street to the south and Darling Drive to the west.
A bidder will be selected by the end of next year. The aim is to finish construction by 2016. Multiple sources have told the Herald the cost of buying back the concession to run the monorail from its owners, Metro Transport Sydney, would be $30 million to $50 million. But it is understood the developers would expect to pay much less because the monorail requires major maintenance and is a marginal business proposition for its owner.
Largely reliant on tourists since opening to much fanfare in 1988, the monorail has struggled with the slump in domestic tourism triggered by the high Australian dollar.
Dismantling the monorail could assist plans to run light rail through the central business district. The government has nominated George Street as its preferred light rail route but putting trams on it might mean allowing cars to run in both directions along Pitt Street.
Removing monorail columns in Pitt Street between Liverpool and Market streets would allow extra lanes for traffic.
Infrastructure NSW and Metro Transport Sydney said it was too early to know what would happen to the monorail.
''As far as Infrastructure NSW is concerned, it is far too premature to be considering the removal of the monorail as part of the development,'' said a spokeswoman, Sandy Olsen.
A Metro Transport spokeswoman, Melanie Flanigan, said: ''It is too early to speculate on any impacts to the monorail as a result of the entertainment centre redevelopment plans and we decline to comment further.''
If the monorail was dismantled it would be a big win for the City of Sydney, whose lord mayor, Clover Moore, has long been a strong critic.
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