NBN Co tight-lipped over Flannigan departure

NBN Co's head of construction Patrick Flannigan has resigned from the network builder just three days after it indefinitely suspended all construction contracts for second release sites.

Flannigan's departure was first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

An NBN Co spokesman said Flannigan had resigned yesterday and that staff had been told today.

“NBN Co is disappointed that Mr Flannigan has decided to leave as he made a valuable contribution to the senior management team. We wish him all the best in the future,” she said.

The spokesman refused to confirm or deny whether Flannigan's departure was related to last Friday's surprise announcement where NBN Co blasted the construction sector for the prices it had attempted to charge for the NBN build.

"I have no further comments on that," the spokesman said.

NBN Co’s general manager of production design and planning Dan Flemming was appointed acting head of construction.

Flannigan’s abrupt resignation is expected to fuel further speculation of alternate arrangements NBN Co is said to be negotiating for the build.

NBN Co’s head of corporate services Kevin Brown said last week the company was confident it could secure better value for money by going a different route.

The departure was also expected to fuel industry speculation that the NBN project was becoming "toxic", as NextDC founder Bevan Slattery described it at a conference last week.

Slattery said the industry was "starting to turn against NBN Co".