Watpac’s Queensland Construction (WTP) division is celebrating the award of almost $200 million worth of projects in recent weeks. The majority of the work won was sizable projects for the Commonwealth Department of Defence in both Townsville and Brisbane. In Townsville, the team was awarded the Enhanced Land Force Stage 1, New Facilities for the Third Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) and Messing Facilities project for Defence. This project is a lump sum Head Contract and involves the refurbishment and extension of some existing facilities and the construction of new facilities at Lavarack Barracks to be completed for the relocated 3 RAR. Works will include extensive civil works, refurbishment and extension of messing facilities, the construction of new buildings for use as headquarters, administrative support, quartermaster stores, and platoon and training facilities. In Brisbane, Watpac is soon to begin work on the RAAF Base Amberley Redevelopment Stage 3, Package 6—Passive Defence Augmentation and Demolitions project. The works comprise an extensive security upgrade to the Base and involves new high- level security fencing around the perimeter of the Base, extensive civil works, demolition, and the construction of new gate houses.
Martin Monro, Watpac Construction National General Manager, said the new Defence projects are recognition of Watpac’s ability to win work that is not awarded solely on price but on the strength of Watpac’s teams, and its safety, environmental and quality systems. “These projects throughout Queensland show Watpac has the skills and experience to undertake a wide variety of work,” Mr Monro said. “As a Queensland-born company, it is particularly heartening to see that many of these projects will not only provide new and updated facilities for our Defence personnel, but will also create jobs for Queenslanders.”
In addition to the Defence projects, this week Watpac was named as one of the managing contractors for Round 2 of the $600 million Australian Government’s National Building Programme—Primary Schools for the 21 Century. Other projects secured in the last month include Albion Park Demolition and Services Work, the Brisbane Cricket Ground Roof Reinstallation, and the Coopers Plains OHSS Complex W8 project.
Other Watpac Construction projects currently underway in Queensland include the Nambour Hospital redevelopment on the Sunshine Coast, the Knowledge Based Research Centre and Boggo Road Urban Village projects in Brisbane, and the Australian Tropical Science and Innovation Precinct at James Cook University in Townsville. In other states, the Construction Division has continued to secure work, with other recent wins including the Woolworths Data Centre in Sydney, the Cochlear Global Headquarters building at Macquarie University, and the RMIT University Design Hub project in Melbourne.
