Australia announced on February 15 that it will allocate A$3.9 billion (S$3.48 billion) to advance construction of a shipyard central to delivering nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS defence agreement with the United States and Britain.
Unveiled in 2021, AUKUS represents Australia’s largest-ever defence investment.
The pact will see US-operated Virginia-class submarines stationed in Australia from 2027, the sale of several Virginia submarines to Australia from around 2030, and the joint development by Britain and Australia of a new AUKUS-class nuclear-powered submarine.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the A$3.9 billion commitment as an initial contribution toward building the new shipyard at Osborne, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.
“Investing in the submarine construction yard at Osborne is critical to delivering Australia’s conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.
He added that official estimates place the total construction cost at A$30 billion “over coming decades”.
The Osborne facility will host joint work by Australia’s ASC and Britain’s BAE Systems to produce Australia’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, the centrepiece of the AUKUS arrangement.
Until full-scale construction begins later this decade, the site will continue handling much of the maintenance for Australia’s existing Collins-class submarines.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the initial funding would support essential infrastructure development at the shipyard.
“This is just the beginning,” Mr Malinauskas said in the statement.
In December, a review by the Pentagon identified opportunities to strengthen the AUKUS initiative, including the need to ensure Australia accelerates efforts to expand its nuclear submarine capability.
