Australia plans upgrades for largest naval base and dry dock

Upgrades costing up to AUD3.1 billion (USD2.2 billion) are planned for Australia's largest naval base and dry dock, with work scheduled to start in late 2026, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 8 March.

The upgrades involve the Garden Island defence precinct in Sydney, which comprises fleet headquarters for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Fleet Base East, and extensive sustainment resources. These include the 347-metre Captain Cook dry dock, the largest of its type in the southern hemisphere and the only facility in Australia able to accommodate the RAN's largest ships.

In a notice to industry, the DoD said a request for proposals (RFPs) would be released in mid-2022, with approval of a draft detailed business case timed for December 2024, construction starting in September 2026, and completion in December 2036.

The project would address a range of strategic infrastructure investment needs, the DoD said. These include enhanced critical system resilience, additional engineering services to support future growth, sustainment of strategic fuel storage, and modernisation and remediation of the Captain Cook dry dock and associated support services to ensure critical sustainment functions are maintained.

Estimated project value was within a AUD2.4–3.1 billion range, the DoD said.