The Australian and South Australian Labor Governments have committed to making South Australia the centre of the nation’s submarine manufacturing, announcing a $3.9 billion initial investment in a new Submarine Construction Yard at Osborne.
The funding is intended as a down payment on a project that is expected to create nearly 10,000 jobs across the state over the lifetime of the program, the government announced in a news release.
Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI) estimates total investment in the construction yard could reach $30 billion in the coming decades.
The Osborne yard will include three main areas for fabrication, outfitting, and consolidation, testing, launching and commissioning. Enabling works and the Skills and Training Academy are projected to cost around $2 billion and $500 million, respectively.
Construction is expected to require 66 million man-hours and 126,000 tonnes of structural steel, equivalent to the weight of 17 Eiffel Towers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the project “is critical to delivering Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines” and described it as “vital to South Australia’s economy and long-term growth in local industry.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles highlighted the scale of the undertaking, noting that “South Australia is at the centre of one of the most significant defence undertakings in our history” and that the project supports “continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment.”
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the investment represents a “watershed moment for the South Australian economy” and emphasised that the $30 billion figure covers enabling infrastructure, with additional billions expected for the construction of the nuclear-powered submarines themselves.
He added that the program would provide “thousands of highly skilled, well-paid jobs for decades” and opportunities to lift skills, wages and economic complexity.
Supporting infrastructure is already underway, with the new Eurimbla Way link road operational, and more than 500 South Australians currently employed on the Skills and Training Academy and Production Demonstration Facilities within the yard.
The Academy, set to open in 2028, will train up to 1,000 learners each year to support the defence workforce.
ANI, appointed as the Government’s design and delivery partner, will oversee the construction and future development of the yard as designs mature and commercial arrangements are finalised.
