Fury as it's revealed Clive Palmer's project to re-build the titanic may cost $1BILLION while sacked mine workers still wait for him to pay them
- Clive Palmer's dream of building a replica of the Titanic could cost him $1billion
- Construction of the replica resumed last year following a financial setback
- Designer of the liner Fredrick Johansson said the price jumped 'exponentially'
- Mr Palmer owes $7million to workers at his failed Queensland Nickel company
- The furious mine workers have waited three years for their full entitlements
- The billionaire has also spent up to $60million on campaigning for the election
Clive Palmer's dream of building a full-sized replica of the Titanic could cost him $1billion while sacked mine workers are still waiting for their pay.
The Australian billionaire announced the plans to build a replica for $500million in 2012 - but paused the project in 2015 when he was short of cash.
Designer Fredrick Johansson said that since then the cost of building a ship had soared.
Clive Palmer's (pictured) dream of building a full-sized replica of the Titanic could cost him $1billion, while sacked mine workers still wait for their pay
'Some of the biggest ships now cost $1 billion each. This is a smaller ship but a rather complex project so it's very difficult to say. We haven't started a detailed cost analysis,' the designer told The Courier Mail.
He said the most expensive aspect of the design would be making it an exact replica of the original Titanic - and ensuring it was safe.
Mr Johansson also said that Mr Palmer had never missed a payment to the replica designers.
'We haven't had any problems with them. They have been very smooth in that respect. They have been a good client,' he said.
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Meanwhile, Mr Palmer owes $7million to workers at his failed Queensland Nickel company, who have waited three years for their full entitlements.
The furious former workers say they should be paid before the billionaire invests any more money into the luxury liner.
Mr Palmer made his money in mining, owning Mineralogy and Queensland Nickel before the refinery collapsed in 2016 and he owed $300million to creditors.
Taxpayers were forced to stump up for entitlements for 800 workers after the collapse.
The Australian billionaire first announced the plans in 2012, but it wasn't until last year that he confirmed the construction of the replica had resumed after a financial setback (pictured, the original Titanic)
In April, Mr Palmer promised to pay back the workers, saying $7million would be available to them through a trust managed by a solicitor.
But Maurice Blackburn employment lawyer Giri Sivaraman said only one worker had been paid.
'The workers... simply don't trust his promises. They feel betrayed and angry,' Mr Sivaraman said.
'It also seems particularly cruel to tell workers the money is there but it won't be paid until after the election.'
Mr Palmer has also spent about $60million on an extensive advertising campaign, bombarding potential voters with text messages and TV ads ahead of the election on May 18.
Mr Palmer owes $7million to workers at his failed Queensland Nickel company, who have waited three years for their full entitlements
Mr Palmer is worth about $1.8billion according to Forbes, and is ranked 20th on the Australian Rich List.
He was a member of the Liberal National Party in Queensland until he formed his own party, the Palmer United Party, in 2013.
He was voted into parliament after an extensive advertising campaign but two of his senators - Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus - defected from the party.
Mr Palmer was caught sleeping during Question Time in the House of Representatives in 2014 and was criticised for often being absent from parliament, only attending 54 per cent of sitting days.
He chose not to stand for re-election in 2016 and de-registered the party a year later, before reforming it as the United Australia Party in 2018.
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