$2 billion Adelaide submarine construction yard ‘underway’

South Australian industry has some reason to celebrate the AUKUS announcement with the news that a massively enlarged Submarine Construction Yard will be built that is almost three times larger than the yard forecast for the cancelled French Attack class programme.

The build of Australia’s next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will take place at Osborne North in Adelaide where a yard for the construction of the French now-cancelled Attack class programme was partially constructed (pictured), though actual submarine building is delayed into the 2030s under AUKUS.

This will see an estimated investment in South Australia of $2 billion over the Forward Estimates in a major capability and capacity uplift that will cement Osborne as the large-vessel construction site for the navy.

SA Premier, Peter Malinauskas said the significance of this investment could not be overstated.

Malinauskas said: “The AUKUS submarines will be the most complex machines that have ever been built in human history. And they will be built here in South Australia.

“But it is not just the thousands of workers to be employed at Osborne who will benefit – this is a transformational opportunity to increase our economic complexity.

“That means more highly skilled, highly paid jobs across our economy that will help lift the standard of living for generations of South Australians.

“We now have a massive task ahead of us to prepare the highly skilled workforce to capitalise on this historic opportunity.”

The site already hosts common user facilities, the headquarters of ASC which constructed the Collins class submarines, and the new all-digital shipyard that is constructing Hunter class frigates.

According to a federal and state government media release, work ‘begins right away’, however this is for investing in the workforce required and putting in place infrastructure to support the build.

The governments did not say when construction of the shipyard would resume.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said: “This is the greatest industrial undertaking ever for Australia. It will be transformative for South Australian industry.

“There will be thousands of direct jobs in constructing the shipyard and building the submarines, but also significant opportunities in the supply chains, not only of Australia, but of the United States and United Kingdom.”

At its peak, up to 4,000 workers will be employed to design and build the infrastructure at Osborne.

A further 4,000 to 5,500 direct shipyard jobs are expected to be created to build nuclear-powered submarines in the state when the programme reaches its peak – almost double the workforce forecast by the former government for the Attack class program.

This does not include the additional jobs created in the supply chain for the construction or sustainment of submarines.

The federal and state governments have established a Commonwealth South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Taskforce to deliver the project.

Picture: The partially completed submarine construction yard at Osborne, Adelaide