Navy ammunitioning facility to proceed at Twofold Bay
The White Paper has given the go-ahead for a vital piece of RAN infrastructure on the East Coast.
The Navy ammunitioning facility proposed for Twofold Bay on the south coast of NSW was approved in the 2001/02 federal budget and is expected to cost $40 million. This figure includes design, construction, professional fees and charges, furniture, fittings, materials handling equipment and a contingency.
The facility will provide for the Royal Australian Navy's long term ammunitioning needs on the east coast following the closure in December 1999 of the previous arrangements in Sydney harbour. Twofold Bay was selected following consideration of operational aspects and the conduct of detailed technical and environmental investigations including development of an environmental impact statement. The proposed facility was subject to joint assessment under Commonwealth and State environmental legislation and was cleared by both jurisdictions to proceed on the basis that it presented no major negative impacts and was in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development.
The requirement for the ammunitioning facility calls for the construction of a sheltered wharf in a deep water harbour close to the fleet base in Sydney Harbour and Navy's east Australia exercise area. The main components of the facility are: a 200m x 30m multi-purpose wharf; a dredged berth to 10.5m depth; a dual-lane 7m wide jetty between the wharf and the shore; a dual-lane 7m wide access road between the shore and the existing sealed road; and a land depot comprising armament transit and storage facilities and supporting infrastructure located approximately 15km inland from the wharf.
The wharf will be capable of accommodating vessels including HMAS Success, HMAS Tobruk, the LPAs, FFGs, Anzac frigates, Collins submarines and medium-sized commercial vessels. The wharf will be sited to minimise the impact of wind and wave action on vessels berthed alongside, and meet the strict criteria for overall ship movement for ammunition handling operations.
Ammunitioning operations undertaken will range from minor, which involve top up of ammunition expended during a ship's work-up and operational training periods, to major, when ships entering or returning from maintenance require removal or reloading of all ammunition. The wharf will be licensed to 30 tonnes net explosive quantity (NEQ) to cater for the Navy's largest supply ship HMAS Success, although other RAN vessels carry less than 12 tonnes NEQ.
The wharf will be used by the Navy for between 45 and 70 days per year, and Defence will make it available for commercial use when not required by the Navy. The NSW Waterways Authority proposes to facilitate construction of commercial storage facilities in proximity to the wharf to support commercial operations if demand eventuates.
The land depot will have the capacity to concurrently store up to three ammunition outfits for major RAN fleet units, and will be designed to accommodate new ship classes and ammunition types with minimal modification. Its facilities will consist of six explosive storehouses, a transit facility, four truck parking bays, an administration building, a non-explosive storehouse and a workshop. Two options were put forward for the land depot and these were assessed against criteria including construction, safeguarding, environmental impact and bushfire risk. The site within the nearby state forest was selected following a detailed technical and environmental impact assessment.
There are two main components to the facilities acquisition strategy for this project. The marine works, which include the approach road, wharf, jetty, the necessary dredging and the supply of services such as power, water and navigation lights, are being treated as one package of work and will be let under a design and construct contract.
Following an open invitation to register interest four companies, Balderstone Hornibrook, Barclay Mowlem, Clough Engineering and Transfield, were shortlisted and issued with the RFT. The RFT was due to close in late-June this year and contract award is expected in August. Following appointment of the contractor, a three month design and construction material ordering lead time is expected before construction could commence late this year.
Construction of the land depot will be divided into five or six packages of work to enable local contractors to tender for the works. Tendering for land depot packages will occur after the award of the marine works contract. It is expected that the whole facility will be operational by early 2003.
By Daniel Cotterill, Canberra