Site manager Johnny Tags said Fulton Hogan had diverted workers from other divisions to the mall project so it could ''lessen the impact on the shops''.
Cromwell Community Board chairman Neil Gillespie said impact on the shop operators was one factor considered when timing the work and why the bulk of the work was taking place during winter rather than summer.
Mr Tags said a team of about eight workers started the project but now there were about 20 on site each day, so that the project could be finished as early as possible.
It is business as usual for the shops on the outside of the mall but the car park has been turned into a construction zone as the team builds stone walls and seats, plants trees, installs lighting, reseals car parks, and more. The car park remains open, so the construction team has to work around cars.
Central Otago District Council property and facilities manager Mike Kerr said just over $1 million had been approved for redevelopment works in this financial year.
The original plan was to have the area in front of the cafes, bakery and First National finished by the end of October.
The areas around the new Lode Lane toilets and the section between the Bank of New Zealand and Subway were planned to be finished by mid December.
Next year, the interior pedestrian area of the mall will be redeveloped with work on the western entrance to take place the following year and the southern entrance the year after that.
Costs for those areas have not been finalised but based on concept drawings, the combined cost is estimated at more than $2 million. The project was finally approved last year after more than 10 years of discussions.
The Lode Lane toilets, next to the bus stop, were demolished and replaced as a separate project and opened late last year.
The Cromwell Mall was opened in 1985 after 20 years of discussions triggered by concept plans for the Clyde dam, which eventually flooded part of Cromwell, including the old town centre. In 2008, the community board produced an action plan which stated the mall was ''tired and dated''.
Two years later, an Urbanism Plus report presented seven ideas to revitalise the town centre including creating a new entrance off State Highway 8, improving the visual connection and creating a vibrant frontage.
