Wagner Corp’s John Wagner confident in delivering quarantine hub facility at Toowoomba

One of Toowoomba’s most successful families is committed to building one of the region’s most controversial infrastructure projects in recent memory. Here’s why they’re still confident.

ALL SMILES: Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner at the announcement a quarantine hub would be built at Wellcamp Airport, owned by the Wagners.

John Wagner knows he and his brothers are staking their reputations on delivering the upcoming Wellcamp quarantine facility.

It’s why he’s so sure Wagner Corporation can deliver the first 500 beds of the eventual 1000 bed facility to the State Government by December.

The shock announcement of the project going ahead last Thursday made national headlines and reignited fierce debate about the risk of bringing quarantined travellers to the Toowoomba region.

“We stake our reputation on every project, this is definitely no different,” he said.

“It’s so important to Toowoomba, Queensland and Australia that we enhance safety in quarantine, because clearly hotel quarantine has not been effective.

“All four Wagner brothers are heavily involved to make sure this happens efficiently and quickly.”

Detailed plans for the 1000-bed hub are just weeks away, with Queensland Health and other stakeholders currently finalising the layout, shape and design of the rooms and the complex.

“There’s a lot of work going into that to get exact room sizes and the layout Queensland Health need,” Mr Wagner said.

“I would expect that will be ready in another fortnight.”

Mr Wagner said while he was aware of the stakes involved in completing the project on time and to design, he was confident based on his company’s track record.

“One thing the Wagners do is commit and then we execute,” he said.

“We never take on anything we can’t execute on time and on budget.

“If you look at the airport and business park and all our other projects, we back ourselves and we’re bloody good at it.

“It is a big undertaking and it is high-profile and there is a hell of a lot of work to do, but that’s what we’ll do.”

Mr Wagner also wanted to reiterate Wagner Corporation would have nothing to do with the operation of the hub.

“As long as people understand that we’re the landlord, that’s really important to me,” he said.