Images released by Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI), which is leading delivery of the yard, show construction work on the production demonstration facilities at Osborne Naval Shipyard, plus a $502m Skills and Training Academy campus.
The production demonstration area will help test and validate processes and procedures ahead of submarine construction starting in the late 2020s.
About 1100 construction workers are working on the 75ha Lefevre Peninsula site, where about $1.9bn worth of contracts have already been let.
Once complete, the yard is forecast to have required 573km of concrete piles, 126,000 tonnes of structural steel, 672,000sq m of cladding (equivalent to 42 Adelaide Ovals), and 155,000 tonnes of reinforcing bars (equivalent to 21 Eiffel Towers).
ANI managing director Andrew Seaton on Wednesday revealed a joint venture as capability partner in the yard’s development and delivery, between Laing O’Rourke Construction Australia and Amentum Australia.
He said the joint venture was experienced in complex infrastructure delivery, including nuclear-licensed facilities in the United Kingdom.
“The nuclear-powered submarine construction yard is one of the most significant infrastructure undertakings in Australia’s history and will be central to enabling Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarine capability,” Mr Seaton said.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Premer Peter Malinauskas last Friday announced another $4.6bn would be ploughed into the yard, following the first $3.9bn down payment in February.
The Sunday Mail in February exclusively revealed the $30bn-plus construction plan for the submarine yard, billed as the world’s most advanced.