Glasgow Science Centre opening still in doubt

The re-opening date of Carillion's £8.5m Glasgow Science Centre project seems even further away today (Friday) after new bearings for the base of the attraction's tower were finally ordered.

Officials behind the project have remained silent over a new opening date after the attraction was forced to close in July last year due when the 400ft tower,designed by Buro Happold, started to sink by 15mm.

Since its closure the centre has lost thousands of pounds a day in ticket income.

Main contractor Carillion has already admitted that tests on thrust bearings back in November revealed that they had collapsed.

But only now has a new spherical thrust bearing, the size of a coffee table, been ordered from German manufacturer Pan-Metallgesellschaft.

The replacement work is expected to take a further three months.

One project source added that an ongoing contractual dispute over liability for the faults was also causing problems.