The Morrison Government is planning to invest $244 million in a major upgrade of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airbase near Derby in Western Australia that will support 250 jobs and provide a shot in the arm for the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RAAF Base Curtin forms a key part of the Australian Defence Force\u2019s (ADF) network of northern airbases and plays a vital role in supporting the training and operations of the ADF in WA\u2019s North-West and the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The airbase will undergo a major refurbishment and replacement of its facilities and infrastructure, including upgrades to communications, water and electrical services, roads, working accommodation, workshops, aircraft hangars, storage areas and security infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project is currently in the development phase and, subject to Government and Parliamentary approval, construction is expected to start in late 2024 and be finished in mid-2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Defence Industry and Member for Durack Melissa Price said the Government\u2019s planned investment will be a major boost for the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is fantastic news for small and medium businesses in and around Derby,\u201d Minister Price said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose local businesses will have the opportunity to contribute to what is going to be a very significant redevelopment of RAAF Base Curtin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c$244 million is a huge investment that will support 250 local jobs during the construction period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of our core objectives is to maximise employment opportunities for local companies to bid for work on these sorts of projects and this one will be no different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WSP Australia has been engaged as Defence\u2019s Project Manager and Contract Administrator for the development phase of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WSP has started its initial engagement with local community groups and Indigenous groups, including Kimberley shires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company has been providing information to enable those interested to prepare to capitalise on the opportunities the project will deliver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis investment speaks volumes about the importance the Morrison Government places on RAAF Base Curtin to the defence of our nation,\u201d Minister Price said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I visited the base last year I got a fantastic insight into the vital role it plays but also a great understanding of the complexities of running an air base in a location like Derby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur investment has come at the perfect time and will be welcomed by those who work there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defence released a Request for Tender in February 2022 to engage a Managing Contractor, which will be responsible for managing the project design and overseeing subcontractors for its delivery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tender period is set to close on 8 April, with a Managing Contractor expected to be engaged by Defence in June 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plans for both local content and the use of Indigenous companies will be taken into account by Defence in awarding the contract. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Morrison Government is planning to invest $244 million in a major upgrade of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) airbase near Derby in Western Australia that will support 250 jobs and provide a shot in the arm for the local economy. RAAF Base Curtin forms a key part of the Australian Defence Force\u2019s (ADF) … Continue reading “MORRISON GOVERNMENT TO INVEST\u00a0$244M IN RAAF BASE CURTIN\u00a0“<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15626,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15625\/revisions\/15626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}