The federal government has abandoned plans to build WA’s 1,000 bed quarantine facility at Jandakot, announcing last night the facility would instead be built in Bullsbrook.
The federal government has abandoned plans to build WA’s 1,000 bed quarantine facility at Jandakot, announcing last night the facility would instead be built in Bullsbrook.
The Centre for National Resilience is expected to be built on Commonwealth-owned land within the Bullsbrook Training Area; a 1,000 hectare site west of the Pearce RAAF Base.
The construction of the purpose-built quarantine hub will be spearheaded by global construction company Multiplex, which is currently building the Victorian facility, and is expected to begin in October, subject to the completion of feasibility studies and negotiations.
In July, the federal government confirmed it had chosen a 40-hectare site at Jandakot as its preferred site, ending a month-long land assessment process which spanned multiple sites at both Perth and Jandakot Airports.
But last week, Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham indicated that the location was “not definite”, with scoping work and commercial negotiations yet to be finalised.
While a number of sites across Perth were considered, Mr Birmingham said the Bullsbrook site provided the best option for the centre to be delivered quickly and cost effectively and would allow more international travel to be facilitated sooner.
The state and federal government signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week under which the federal government would fund the construction of the facility, while the state government would oversee its operation and cover the associated costs.
The design of the facility, which is expected to cost about $300 million to build, will be modelled on the one currently being built in Melbourne, with Mr Birmingham likening it to modular mining camp units.
Mr Birmingham said the facility would likely cost a few hundred million dollars to build and that annual operating costs would likely run into the millions of dollars, if it were running at full capacity.
The new facility will be used for ongoing quarantine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, but will also be used to support responses to natural disasters or other emergencies in the future.
It is expected to have at least 500 beds in place by the end of March 2022.
