Design partners announced for nuclear-powered submarine yard

The Australian Government has announced the concept design partners for South Australia’s new Nuclear-Powered Submarine Construction Yard (NPSCY).

In a joint press release, the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Defence Industry announced that Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and an AECOM and Aurecon Joint Venture have been announced as the design partners.

KBR has extensive experience in supporting design and project management for defence infrastructure facilities across the nation and will design the area of the NPSCY that will be used for steel processing and fabrication facilities.

The AECOM and Aurecon Joint Venture will deliver the concept design for the rest of the NPSCY site which will support outfitting, consolidation and commissioning of Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

The design teams collectively bring together nuclear infrastructure specialists and experienced personnel from previous shipyard infrastructure projects at Osborne, Henderson and in AUKUS partner nations.

The press release said that the announcement of the design partners follows the March announcement of Australia’s sovereign submarine build and sustainment partners and continues to demonstrate progress towards building SSN-AUKUS submarines in Adelaide.

The NPSCY development will be in excess of 75 hectares and will be built to the highest security and safety standards.

The project alone is set to create up to 4000 direct jobs at the peak of construction, with a further 4000–5500 direct jobs expected to build Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines in South Australia. Preliminary enabling works required to support the future construction of the NPSCY at Osborne commenced in December 2023 with site mobilisations and early works for a new carpark.

Constructing the infrastructure at the NPSCY will rely on Australian engineering and design consultants, project controls specialists, project managers, tradespeople and construction workers.

In partnership with the South Australian Government, the federal government is also designing and building the new Skills and Training Academy at Osborne to educate and train the naval shipbuilding workforce.

“This is yet another major milestone reflecting the Albanese government’s commitment to construct conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines in South Australia,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles. “Not only will this ambitious project create thousands of local jobs, it will deliver the most critical defence capability acquisition in our nation’s history.”

“The submarine construction yard at Osborne will provide highly skilled jobs for decades to come, providing financial security for thousands of hardworking Australians,” said Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. “This project will ensure Australia will be at the forefront of manufacturing the most advanced submarines in the world.”

Image credit: Department of Defence.