Arabic version: أحواض بناء السفن في أديلايد ضمن «أوكوس» تتلقى زيادة تمويلية بقيمة 4.6 مليار دولار
According to ABC News, Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards will receive a $4.6 billion funding boost to further develop the Submarine Construction Yard for Australia’s future AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine fleet. The announcement is due to be made on Friday alongside Labor’s 50th National Conference in Adelaide.
The new investment follows $3.9 billion already announced earlier this year for the Commonwealth-owned Australian Naval Infrastructure shipyards. It brings taxpayer funding invested in the Osborne shipyards under AUKUS to $8.5 billion. The first AUKUS-class submarine is scheduled for delivery in the early 2040s.
Under the AUKUS plan, five nuclear-powered submarines will be built at Osborne, in addition to three Virginia-class submarines Australia is acquiring from the United States. The new submarine yard is expected to be 10 times the size of the existing Osborne precinct, where Hunter-class frigates are already under construction.
The development includes a 420-metre-long fabrication hall and outfitting, consolidating and commissioning precincts. ABC News reported that 1,100 people are already employed at the site, with thousands more jobs expected in South Australia. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the investment would support the capability needed to build, operate, maintain and sustain the future fleet.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas described the project as an enormous undertaking. The funding at Osborne is smaller than the $12 billion announced last year for Henderson shipyards in Western Australia, which will maintain Virginia-class submarines Australia is expected to operate from the 2030s, as well as AUKUS submarines.
