$100 million bonanza of Defence construction work up for grabs at Darwin barracks

SOME of the first tender opportunities for 2020 will hit contractors’, sub-contractors’ and suppliers’ desks this week, as the next $100 million package of construction works at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin starts to hit the market

About $100 million in construction work for Larrakeyah Barracks is about to hit the market for tenders y. Picture: Justin Kennedy

SOME of the first tender opportunities for 2020 will hit contractors’, sub-contractors’ and suppliers’ desks this week, as the next $100 million package of construction works at Larrakeyah Barracks in Darwin starts to hit the market.

And Master Builders NT chief executive Dave Malone has warned the challenge for local businesses now is to demonstrate that they are highly competitive and can more than take on these projects, and take on bidders from anywhere.

Mr Malone, a passionate advocate for Territory industry, has been spruiking local industry capability to the Federal Government and Defence for many years.

“It’s a claim we at Master Builders have been making to the Federal Government, Defence and anyone else who would listen,” he said.

“There should be no surprises about any of that. After all, the Territory construction sector has been delivering Defence construction projects for the best part of 80 years now.

“Local firms at all levels will need to demonstrate that they represent best value for money.”

The Larrakeyah/Coonawarra Redevelopment project is a $550 million upgrade and expansion of that Defence base in Darwin.

Laing O’Rourke is the managing contractor for this upgrade by the Defence Department – a task that involves all of that project’s pre-planning, and then the subsequent construction phase.

“The successful short-listed firms for these tenders will be those that first submitted expressions of interest through the ICN NT Gateway system last year,” Mr Malone said.

“Laing O’Rourke has indicated that the first projects on this list of tenders will include:

 ● A new base entry for Larrakeyah/Coonawarra.

● A new Norforce Precinct.

● Site Wide Civil Works.

 ● Sewer Infrastructure.

 ● Bulk Earthworks.

 ● Ancillary Building.

“Defence has done a great job in recent times reshaping their procurement to create more opportunities for regional businesses. And managing contractors like Laing O’Rourke are working hard to deliver on those aspirations.”

Mr Malone said local industry needed to note that Defence, like all sophisticated clients, had its own particular way of tendering and delivering projects.

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“And that means it’s looking for firms that buy into their delivery model and the way they do business,” he said.

“As separate projects, each of these has the potential to engage an entire local supply chain to deliver what’s needed. But it’s crucial to recognise that there are no guarantees. Best value for money is something that we would all expect.”