The upgrade, announced in December’s mid-year budget year review, is focused on the northern area of the Festival Plaza between the Festival Theatre and the Dunstan Playhouse.

A long switch back ramp which currently connects the Festival Plaza with the Northern Promenade will be replaced with stairs and a lift.

The switch back ramp set for replacement in the upgrade. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily

The future staircase and lift that will replace the switch back ramp. Image: supplied

The rest of the upgrade consists of an “extensive series of works” to ensure the Festival Centre complies with modern fire safety standards.

This includes upgrades to smoke detection, sprinkler and warning systems as well as new emergency lighting.

The upgrade is not scheduled to begin until 2025, with completion scheduled for the first half of 2026.

Asked if the Festival Theatre, Dunstan Playhouse or Space Theatre would be closed during the works, Arts Minister Andrea Michaels said: “We’re working through how long it will be closed for, but the aim is to have at least one of the theatres open during that period.”

The current interface between Elder Park and the Festival Plaza. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

The upgrade is scheduled for completion in 2026. Image: supplied

She also said having one lift connecting the northern promenade and the plaza would be “certainly a lot easier” than the current ramp.

The Festival Centre’s latest upgrade comes despite the Weatherill Government budgeting $90 million in 2015 to upgrade the centre.

That upgrade, which was later carried out by the Marshall Government, featured exterior improvements, new theatre entries, updated foyers, technical upgrades and a new children’s arts play area.

Announcing the additional $34.2 million of funding last month, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said he was surprised the fire safety upgrades were not done during the earlier works.

“When the request was made by the Festival Centre to do further fire safety upgrades, I think if I can put it as euphemistically as possible, I was pretty surprised that those works didn’t occur when it was closed for that extended period for those initial $90 million of works,” Mullighan said on December 21.

Asked today why these upgrades did not occur during the earlier upgrade, Michaels said: “I can’t really answer why it didn’t occur – it was under the previous Liberal government.

“In my view, it probably should have been done at that point in time.

“But we’re here now and we’re doing the fire compliance work that needs to be done and with that we’re also taking the opportunity to make some improvements that have been in the pipeline for quite some time.”