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Publish Date : 16-May-2018

Watpac has been appointed managing contractor to build the $170 million Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) for Rheinmetall Defence Australia at Redbank, in Ipswich, supporting 300 jobs a year over two years. Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said earthworks are expected to start by mid-year, building works by the end of the year, and the facility completed by the end of 2020.

The Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence will be the base for Rheinmetall to deliver the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 contract for next-generation combat reconnaissance vehicles for the Australian Army, Mr Dick said. Progress is well underway with GHD completing the initial designs - work they will finalise in association with Watpac - and the development application has been approved by Ipswich City Council.

Watpac has built several large-scale construction projects across Queensland and is committed to using the highly-skilled construction workforce at Ipswich and across South East Queensland. Bulk earthworks to prepare the Redbank Motorway Estate site for construction will begin after Rheinmetall has concluded its contract negotiations with the Australian Government, which we expect will be mid-year.

Mr Dick said a key element of Rheinmetalls LAND 400 bid was its commitment to establish its Australia-New Zealand Headquarters and Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in South East Queensland. The MILVEHCOEs location at Redbank puts it in the heart of the largest heavy vehicle manufacturing and sustainment hub in the country, Mr Dick said.

This facility will be Rheinmetalls largest presence outside of Germany, and will manage the delivery and continued development and sustainment of the initial 211 Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles under LAND 400 Phase 2, and accommodate Rheinmetalls other defence projects. It will serve as a regional hub with an expected program of continuous design, manufacture and support for up to 5000 military vehicles across Australia and the Asia Pacific.

The attraction of global defence giant Rheinmetall to Queensland is an economic game-changer for the states burgeoning defence sector and for the governments commitment in creating the highly skilled jobs of the future. While plans for the Redbank facility continues here at home, Queensland workers will be based in Rheinmetalls German factory to help manufacture the first 25 Boxer vehicles and learn the technological skills to bring home.

They will return to Queensland to install the systems integration into these 25 vehicles - giving the Army much earlier capability than they would have otherwise.
This project highlights Queenslands rapidly rising profile as the nations leading supplier of next-generation defence technologies. The Queensland Governments expertise in delivering large and complex capital works projects, on display through the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games venue infrastructure program, will again come to the fore in overseeing the construction of the MILVEHCOE on Rheinmetalls behalf.

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