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Brisbane City Council confirmed that it has approved the development application for an expanded maintenance and refit hub, developing enhanced support capabilities for Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force vessels.
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The development on the Brisbane River is further expected to bolster the city’s marine and tourism industries.
Following the approvals, the marina and shipyard will be able to establish a ship lift for ships up to 3,000 tonnes at 90 metres at an estimated cost of $35 million.
It is also expected to develop new hardstand spaces, sheds and berthing capabilities to service multiple ships simultaneously.
Under the plans that hope to create 2,000 new jobs, they hope to build a Trade Centre for Excellence at the site including a five-storey facility that has training spaces, a café, offices and crew facilities.
Director of Rivergate Tom Hill explained that the new capability would enhance the city’s sovereign maritime capabilities.
“This approval means our expansion is now shovel ready and just waiting on government funding support to get under way,” he said.
It is hoped that the expansions would also allow another 60 superyachts to come to Australian waters every year.
“Brisbane is already an ideal location for servicing and repairing superyachts, several classes of Defence vessels and other commercial shipping,” he said.
“This expansion would provide owners and captains of large recreational vessels with the assurance that world-class facilities are available for both routine and unplanned maintenance works while they are cruising in our region.
“It will also fill a much-needed gap in Defence and commercial vessel maintenance on Australia’s east coast, eliminating the current necessity for some vessel classes to be serviced elsewhere in Australia such as Perth or Adelaide due to a lack of lifting capacity.”
[Related: Osborne Shipyard SSN expansion plan unveiled]
