Babcock Australasia is set to significantly expand its new Adelaide defence-support facility just months after the state-of-the-art building was officially opened. The Adelaide-headquartered defence prime will extend its footprint at Woodville North by an extra 50 per cent to cater for its growing operations.
The new $7 million warehousing assembly hall will serve as a bespoke testing facility to support Babcock’s upgrade and enhancement of the nation’s Defence High Frequency Communications System (JP9101) and will also support future Defence projects. The additional floorspace will bring the total size of the facility to 6,000 sqm and provide increased flexibility to Babcock’s operational throughput and project delivery.
Commercial & General, which partnered with Babcock to deliver the $31 million first stage of the high-tech building, has broken ground on the second stage via its construction division Tandem. The new building will mirror the Defence-accreditation level and green credentials of the existing building.
More than 100 staff are already based at the facility, working across nationally significant programs supporting the Collins Class submarine fleet and Hunter Class frigates and Counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (C-CBRNE) assets. Around 110 construction jobs will be supported during the latest build. The extension is expected to reach practical completion by the middle of the year.
Babcock Australasia CEO Andrew Cridland said: “We’ve gone straight into phase two of this build at Woodville North because we recognise the need to deliver strategic infrastructure that empowers local businesses, supports jobs, and secures the future of Australia’s defence capabilities. This expansion is one of a number of key initiatives we are currenting undertaking to maximise our support of the Australian Defence Force. Through key programs like JP9101 we are delivering resilient, sovereign communications in support of strategic defence missions and national security objectives. We are pleased to be working in partnership with Commercial & General and Tandem again on this important extension to our new facility.”
Babcock Australasia Managing Director Mission & Support Systems Richard Udall said: “The expanded facility will provide additional space to maximise the production, integration and testing of the new Enhanced Defence High Frequency Communications System before it is transported to each node site. Once installed, the world leading system will provide the ADF and its allies a level of reliability and operational resilience not seen before within this technology domain.”
Commercial & General Executive Chairman Jamie McClurg said: “We are once again thrilled to be working with Babcock on their next phase of expansion. Our team is well versed in how to deliver effectively against the technically complex briefs that the defence sector sets out and as such have become trusted partners in this space. This is a prime example of our integrated capabilities at work; with the site owned, managed and developed by the C&G Industrial and Logistics Opportunities Fund (ILOF), with purpose-built facilities constructed by Tandem – we create certainty for our clients and deliver better outcomes.”
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