Page 52 - Australian Defence Magazine September 2019

INFRASTRUCTURE
PLANNING
On course -
Estate and Infrastructure update
Given the significant shipbuilding programs in the works, major upgrades to wharf facilities are on the cards.
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
This year has been yet another busy period for the Estate and Infrastructure Group (E&IG), with a number of capital works projects progressing towards completion, others getting underway and
the execution of never- ending responsibility for maintaining and running the Defence estate.
DEFENCE is the largest Commonwealth landholder, with around 700 owned and leased properties and a gross replacement value in the order of $70 billion. As such, the estate requires significant infrastruc- ture works and investment to sustain and develop it to meet the current and future requirements of the ADF.
The 2016 White Paper provided signifi- cant additional resources for the upkeep of estate and, as part of the First Principles Review, the Defence Estate Strategy was re- leased to provide guidance for the manage- ment of estate and infrastructure.
Deputy Secretary of E&IG Steven Grz- eskowiak calls the strategy document a ‘capstone document’, which articulates the priorities for the Defence estate and which he says is as valid today as it was when it was first written back in 2016.
“We’re now in the process of spending that additional funding to improve the condition of the estate,” Grzeskowiak said to ADM. “So, in that big picture sense, the strategy is holding up while we’re moving forward and starting to see deliverables.”
Capital expenditure
The introduction of the Lockheed Mar- tin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter into RAAF service has resulted in major capi- tal works programs around the country, and particularly at RAAF Bases Wil- liamtown and Tindal, where the fleet will be home-based.
E&IG spent a little over $1.8 billion in capital expenditure in financial year 18/19, the largest in-year figure on record. Works associated with the F-35A, representing the largest single facilities project Defence has
52 | September 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
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