Australia awards AU$213m for Garden Island naval base upgrades

The Australian government has launched an indigenous joint venture which will be in charge of delivering Bayinguwa critical wharf works at Garden Island Defence Precinct as part of a project worth AU$213 million.

The Bayinguwa Delivery Team is a joint venture between Pacific Services Group Holdings Pty Ltd (PSG Holdings) and Lendlease Engineering Pty Ltd. PSG Holdings, a small to medium enterprise that is 100 per cent Indigenous owned, managed the design of the works.

PSG Holdings has teamed with Lendlease for the construction of the works.

“This project was announced by the Prime Minister in his 2018 Closing the Gap speech and as he said ‘Bayinguwa’ is the Aboriginal name for Garden Island in Sydney,” Minister Payne said.

“The engagement of the Bayinguwa Delivery Team is first-and-foremost about delivering high quality works for Garden Island. The Garden Island Bayinguwa Delivery Team will be responsible for managing the demolition of two deteriorated wharves and constructing a single new wharf in their place.

“These works are essential to ensure the Royal Australian Navy can safely berth and maintain its ships at Garden Island, which is the major home-port on the east coast of Australia.

The total project value is $213 million and construction is due to commence in September 2018 for completion in February 2022.

Minister for indigenous affairs, Nigel Scullion heralded today’s announcement as yet another example of the practical measures the Turnbull government is taking to improve the lives of indigenous Australians.

“The Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP) has supercharged the Indigenous business sector, driving rapid growth in the demand for Indigenous goods and services across a diverse variety of industries. The IPP has resulted in more than 1000 Indigenous business across the country winning contracts worth over $1.084 billion since the IPP’s commencement in July 2015, up from just 30 Indigenous businesses winning $6.2 million in 2012-13 under the former Labor government’s policies,” Minister Scullion said.