Two additional sound stages, each with a floor area of 1,000 square metres, are to be open for business in Sydney by July.

"We have been a little behind schedule due to building delays but as promised we will have fully sound proofed stages available for hire," said Serenity Cove Studios chief executive Kingston Anderson. The new production facility is under construction in the southern Sydney suburb of Kurnell.

The former manager of the production liaison unit at the New South Wales Film and Television Office said that pricing will accommodate local film and television of all types, as well as offshore production. He is in negotiations with several producers regarding projects scheduled to shoot in the second half of 2004.

"Construction continues on additional sound stages which will see Serenity Cove, by the end of the year, with six sound stages set on 12.5 hectares (30 acres)," Anderson said. "We are already delighted to have a number of film and television-related business operating from the site, including (post-production house) Cutting Edge."