The event was officiated by The Honourable Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia, together with Senator The Honourable Mathias Cormann – Minister for Finance, Commodore Stephen Hughes – Director-General Littoral, Royal Australian Navy and Mr Peter Croser – Assistant Secretary Ships Acquisition – Specialist Ships at CASG, Department of Defence.
Construction of the new facility is on track to meet the scheduled completion date of late 2019. The 53,000 sqm (gross floor area), 70-metre high, purpose-built facility will be one of the largest single undercover modularisation, repair and maintenance facilities in Australia. It will be able to house complete Air Warfare Destroyers, Frigates and OPVs, for construction or maintenance and introduces a national shipbuilding capacity substantially greater than anything that currently exists.
The event also marked the commencement of preparation and profile cutting of the Australian steel plate for the first of 12 OPVs to be constructed for the Royal Australian Navy.
