The scope of the Bays Precinct project. But Mr Pitchford is also aware of the risks, as he made clear in a recent interview with the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. "In the bays, there is nowhere near the transport infrastructure that needs to be there," Mr Pitchford told Shaun Carter, the chapter's president, in an interview published in the institute's latest magazine. "We've got to address that really important question of mass transit and introduce a whole range of things that will be unpalatable to the government in terms of the level of investment – but without that, it will be a disaster," he said. Just what Mr Pitchford means when he calls for more mass transport is not exactly clear. There have been past proposals for a new metro line running along a corridor somewhere north of Parramatta Road, and Mr Pitchford appeared to endorse something along those lines.

David Pitchford, the CEO of UrbanGrowth. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer "There's no point in building a mass transit solution from Wynyard to White Bay," he said. "It's got to go all the way up through Homebush and out to Parramatta and out to the west. We're looking 10 to 12 years in relation to such a provision. We do need to come up with some interim stuff and that may be a different light rail usage which would service the Power Station and the Balmain peninsula." UrbanGrowth's intentions for the Bays Precinct remain undeveloped, though it will present a "transformation plan" to the government in October. Last year the current Transport Minister and former treasurer, Andrew Constance, said there was an ambition to build 16,000 new dwellings in the area, though this was hosed down by other government MPs.

The organisation has been running a "Call for Great Ideas" in relation to the project. The only new transport infrastructure confirmed for the area is a major interchange for the WestConnex motorway. The government intends for the interchange to connect the 33 kilometre WestConnex with a new road tunnel under Sydney harbour. A spokeswoman for UrbanGrowth said it was "understood and accepted broadly" across government and the private sector that transport needed to be addressed as part of the the Bays Precinct transformation. "It would be reasonable to say that governments would prefer to hear of savings an agency can deliver rather than to hear of another big investment," she said. "But this is in the context that the government is actually delivering record spending in infrastructure and is clearly committed to rebuilding NSW to ensure it is globally competitive and resilient for generations to come," she said.

The project will involve the use of the historic White Bay Power Station. In his interview, Mr Pitchford said there was an obligation to use it, but in a way that delivered "economic outcomes". "I feel strongly that we have an opportunity there to utilise a piece of history to develop what might be great for the future," he said. "I'm not wedded to it in terms of 'it must be preserved'. It must be used. The difference is really important."