New RAAF accommodation opens at Edinburgh

EDINBURGH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA – Construction is complete on Plenary Living’s Single Living Environment Accommodation Project (LEAP 2) facility at RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia and Defence has moved in one month ahead of schedule.

Construction is complete on Plenary Living’s Single Living Environment Accommodation Project (LEAP 2) facility at RAAF Edinburgh in South Australia and Defence has moved in one month ahead of schedule.

Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, Senator David Feeney, was at the base today to officially open the Single LEAP 2 site made up of 432 quality single accommodation units and shared recreation facilities for personnel living on-base.

Speaking at the opening event Plenary Group Chief Operating Officer, Glenn Hay, said the $80 million Single LEAP 2 facility at Edinburgh had been delivered in two stages by project manager and sponsor Plenary Living and local builder Built Environs.

“Construction of the 200 accommodation units in stage one were completed on schedule in December last year and the remaining 232 units were made available for occupation in early June, one month ahead of program,” said Mr Hay.

“The professional and efficient team at Built Environs is to be congratulated for their work on this significant project for the Department of Defence. A lot can be said for a builder who is able to deliver a project ahead of program in an environment as complex as a national defence force base.

“This is a fine example of a public private partnership delivering great outcomes for the Commonwealth by making the stage two facilities here at Edinburgh available for early occupation by our Australian service men and women.”

Mr Hay said the stage one units were already occupied and that around 100 Defence personnel had already moved into stage two.

Built Environs Managing Director, Scott Penhall, was very pleased to have handed over both stages of the development on budget, on time – and to the highest environmental and safety standards.

“More than 500,000 hours were worked on this project without a single major incident, while 100 per cent of construction waste was recycled, with nothing going to landfill,” said Mr Penhall.

An estimated 300 jobs were created on site during construction of the facility at the base, which is located around 25 kilometres north of Adelaide.

Plenary Group has partnered with a consortium of local construction firms and Compass Group Pty Ltd on the $900 million Single LEAP 2 project to finance, design, construct, operate and maintain 3,015 accommodation units across 14 Australian Defence Force bases for a 33 year term.

Edinburgh stage two is the seventh site completed as part of the Single LEAP 2 project. A further 10 sites will be rolled out throughout this year and into early 2014.

Executive Director, Communications
+61 3 8888 7754
+61 418 530 806
chris.whitefield@plenary.com