Government's investment in naval shipbuilding infrastructure taking shape

The Government has today unveiled the design and turned the first sod for the new surface shipbuilding yard in Osborne, South Australia. This is the latest in a series of significant infrastructure announcements supporting the delivery of a continuous naval shipbuilding program in Australia.

The unveiling of the design for this $535 million project is an exciting insight into the future of Osborne’s shipyards that is a result of this Government’s $89 billion investment in our future shipbuilding industry.

The Government has also finalised the purchase of the initial tranche of state-owned land and facilities and has also received State planning consent for construction of the new shipbuilding infrastructure.

The infrastructure expansion and upgrades are a fundamental enabler of the construction of the Future Frigates and are key to delivering a continuous naval shipbuilding program which will support thousands of Australian jobs.

The Government has also announced the appointment of the Chair and board members of the newly formed Australian Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd (ANI):

• Mr Lucio Di Bartolomeo, appointed as Chair of ANI. Mr Di Bartolomeo brings extensive experience in infrastructure, engineering and defence with strong skills in project and contract delivery;

• Mr Peter Iancov and Mr Jeremy Schultz, appointed as Directors, are former members of the ASC Pty Ltd Board. Mr Iancov has considerable experience in heavy industrial and engineering projects, while Mr Schultz is a Partner at Finlaysons, specialising in corporate law;

• Ms Janice van Reyk, appointed as a Director, is a qualified Certified Practicing Accountant and is experienced in infrastructure delivery, utilities, and capital intensive and regulated industries; and

• Mr Jim Whalley, appointed as a Director, is a co-founder of Nova, a firm specialising in the provision of engineering and management services and a former air force pilot.

The appointment of the ANI Board members demonstrates that the ANI is open for business and is enabling more flexible approaches to infrastructure.

ANI is now undertaking a commercial process to select the shipyard builder, with a decision to be announced in the coming months.