The Australian government said Monday (30 November) that it will invest more than A$220 million in major infrastructure upgrades at RAAF Base Edinburgh. The investment will focus on maximising opportunities for businesses across South Australia, as the economy recovers from COVID-19. The upgrades will include the construction of a hangar, maintenance facilities, and operational accommodation to support the Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare MC-55A Peregrine capability.
Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said the upgraded facilities would strengthen support to naval, air and land forces. “The Peregrine will be integrated real-time into Defence’s warfighting networks alongside other Defence capabilities to enhance Australia’s situational awareness during both peacetime and conflict,” Reynolds said. “The Peregrine integrates with other latest generation air, sea and land capabilities to achieve improved survivability and decision superiority. Today’s announcement builds on this government’s A$2.5 billion investment in South Australia on Defence facilities and infrastructure over the coming decade, including at Edinburgh Defence Precinct, Woomera Prohibited Area, Keswick Barracks, and the Cultana Training Area.”
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price congratulated Lendlease as the managing contractor to deliver the works to the base. “The project’s construction workforce is expected to peak at about 200 people,” Price said. “Lendlease has committed to achieving a local participation rate of about 80 per cent, which is an outstanding result for the local defence industry.”
Lendlease will shortly commence site establishment activities, with construction anticipated to commence in late 2020 and be completed by 2025. Requests for tenders for local participation will be released into the market in mid-2021.
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