Dozens of new public schools will be built across Perth in the coming years, with the state government having approved millions of dollars’ worth of developments and refurbishments.
Dozens of new public schools will be built across Perth in the coming years, with the state government having approved millions of dollars’ worth of developments and refurbishments since the March 2021 state election.
That news is contained in a review of contracts awarded by the Department of Education over the past nine months, which details that more than half the 20 highest-valued school construction contracts awarded since March were for schools in the metro area.
Of those works, redevelopment of Carine Senior High School by PS Structures was the highest valued at $26.4 million, closely followed by construction of new schools in Wellard and Dayton worth $24.2 million and $22.1 million, respectively.
In the eastern suburbs, Lesmurdie Primary School will receive a $17 million rebuild courtesy of Crothers Construction, while Eastern Hills Senior High School will benefit from a modest $1.9 million worth of canteen refurbishments as part of the state government’s COVID-19 recovery package.
Elsewhere, residents of Perth’s southern suburbs will benefit from work at Lakeland Senior High School worth $10.4 million, courtesy of Byte Construct and FIRM Construction, while Rockingham Senior High School will benefit from minor upgrades worth $2.8 million.
While the bulk of recent work has been awarded in metropolitan Perth, regional Western Australia has not been neglected, with Hedland Senior High School in the Pilbara the biggest beneficiary.
That school will receive upgrades and refurbishments to its gymnasium amounting to $13.1 million, with ADCO Constructions undertaking the work.
Other major developments in regional WA include a $9.8 million sports and performing arts hall for Pinjarra Senior High School, to be undertaken by Universal Constructions, and a performing arts building for Albany Senior High School as part of the state’s recovery package.
While construction contracts proved to be the most frequent and often highest-valued work awarded in the past year, technology services have also proved to be significant moneymakers in the private sector as the Department of Education has spent millions of dollars overhauling IT systems.
That was reflected in Perth-based outfit Kinetic IT being awarded a $504 million, seven-year contract for consolidated ICT services in June.
That work is being provided through an alliance with four other companies, including local firms Campfire and Systemic, and involve the provision of a broad array of ICT services to staff and students.
ASG Group, which is also part of the alliance, is owned by Japan-based Nomura Research Institute. The contract will run to 2028 with a possible extension of four years thereafter.
Other major IT services contracts awarded since March include the provision of servers and network devices, valued at $41.5 million and carried out by five local contractors, and maintenance of Cisco network equipment, carried out by R1i Technology at a value of $1.4 million.
Instructure Australia, which is based in the US and maintains an office in Sydney, will also provide a learning management system to the department at a cost of $2.4 million.
That company is best known for creating learning management system Canvas, which is currently in use at several public schools in NSW as well as a handful of major universities in the eastern states, including Swinburne University and the University of Canberra.
Instructure Australia is listed on the NYSX, having briefly been owned by private equity between 2020 and 2021. It is not listed on the ASX.
Program Kaartdijin, which is intended to replace the department’s school information system, also provided significant work to the private sector, with Project Reboot receiving $1.8 million and Modis Consulting taking $1.1 to provide change management services.
Elsewhere, cleaning services have emerged as a significant priority for the department, having directly sourced a $5 million contract with Samsung Electronics Australia for up to 5,000 air purifiers prior to the commencement of the first school term of 2022.
While the contract listing does not mention COVID-19, other states have grappled with understanding how ventilation affects viral transmission, with Queensland’s state government having established a working group in September to investigate the topic.
