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Australia is set to invest at least $30 billion in the development of a construction yard designed to produce nuclear submarines, a significant component of the AUKUS agreement.
On Sunday, the federal government revealed an initial commitment of $3.9 billion to kickstart the Submarine Construction Yard project situated in Osborne, a suburb in northern Adelaide.
Officials anticipate this ambitious project will generate approximately 10,000 jobs related to design and construction. Additionally, up to 1,000 apprentices are expected to benefit annually from an on-site training facility.
The enormity of this endeavor is highlighted by the massive scale of the proposed infrastructure.
The facility’s construction will utilize enough steel to build 17 Eiffel Towers alongside 710,000 cubic meters of structural concrete, which will form the 420-meter-long fabrication hall.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the $3.9 billion would “pale in comparison” to the $30 billion in investment associated with the construction of the yard.
“This infrastructure alone, $30 billion before a single widget on the submarine is built, is something that will set our economy up well and truly for the next decade and beyond,” Albanese told reporters on Sunday.
The future of AUKUS has been under a cloud for months since the United States announced it would review the terms of the agreement.
But Albanese dismissed concerns that the promised shipyard would never see an AUKUS vessel.
“This is in the interest of the United States, in the interests of the UK and in the interests of Australia,” he said.
The eye-watering price tag comes from an estimate provided by Australian Naval Infrastructure, the government’s hand-picked company tasked with delivering the AUKUS facility.
As well as construction, the new yard will include capability for the testing and commission of the submarines.
An estimate for how long the yard will take to complete or whether the $30 billion figure will increase was not confirmed.
Defence has become a boom industry for South Australia with the country’s first missile factory recently opening in Port Wakefield.
Osborne already hosts the existing facilities for Collins-class and Hunter-class subs.
“There were 1200 people working at Holden when it closed, 4000 will be required to construct this facility,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
“It is hard for South Australians to genuinely comprehend the amount of high-paid skilled work that has come our way.”
The announcement of a decades-long infrastructure commitment comes at a good time for the premier, who is a month away from the state election.
A poll on Wednesday showed Labor holding a 61-39 lead over the Liberals on two-party-preferred.
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