NT government releases contract for 60 months for transporting passengers to Howard Springs

The NT government has hinted that the Covid-19 pandemic is going nowhere fast, after a new tender was published looking for new bus companies to ferry passengers into isolation for another five years.

THE NT Government is anticipating the need for quarantine facilities for at least another half a decade, with a bus service tender to Howard Springs and the Todd facility stipulated to last five years.

The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics has put out the call for bus operators to ferry Covid-19 quarantine passengers from major Territory ports of entry to quarantine facilities, with a contract length of five years.

The tender is seeking bus companies to ferry passengers from Covid-19 hotspots who arrive at the NT’s major ports, including Darwin International Airport, Gove Airport, Connellan (Uluru) Airport, Alice Springs Airport, Darwin Port and the Cullen Bay Port.

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“People arriving from hotpots to the Territory will be taken to the (Centre for National Resilience) at Howard Springs or to the Todd Facility in Alice Springs,” the request for tender said.

The contract however stipulated that the contract does not include transporting anyone who has tested positive for Covid-19.

“The transport of known positive cases is undertaken through the Department of Health who utilise an ambulance or other medical transport providers,” documentation advised.

The contract said coaches, wheelchair accessible vehicles, minibuses and taxis would need to be easily cleaned after each use.

Passengers are ferried into mandatory 14 days isolation from a repatriation flight from New Delhi. Picture Glenn Campbell

Curtains are strictly forbidden because they “could harbour germs”.

Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler said the contract signalled the government was looking to be “prepared and ready to get the Territory through this pandemic”.

“This contract, and its period of time, enables us to ensure we have sufficient, qualified and suitable contractors on hand for when they are required,” Ms Lawler said.

She did not answer questions as to whether she expected the pandemic to last another five years, but said the buses could be used for other disasters as well.

“They can also be used for other emergency response requirements such as cyclones or community evacuations,” Ms Lawler said.

“It is imperative to have a pool of suitable quarantine transport providers available.”

Bus transport has played a crucial role in ensuring the NT’s arrivals have remained segregated from the general population.

Over the past fortnight Olympic athletes were ferried to Howard Springs after touching down in the Top End from Tokyo.

The quarantine facility has come under pressure, with the government now restricting reasons why interstate residents can travel from declared hotspots after Howard Springs neared capacity last week.

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