Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced a proposal to significantly redevelop the RAAF Williams, Point Cook Base on the outskirts of Melbourne.
The Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare visited RAAF Williams today and confirmed the Government's ongoing commitment to maintain the base, which is the oldest continually operated military flying base in the world.
The redevelopment proposal involves replacing obsolete engineering infrastructure to support the future development of the base.
It also includes making the museum and heritage areas at the Point Cook Base more accessible to the public.
The redevelopment plans are expected to cost around $100 million and will generate many job opportunities during construction.
A public consultation process will be conducted during the design development stage.
Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2014, following planning approval, and is likely to take around three years.
In the interim, Defence will commence maintenance work worth nearly $2 million to improve several heritage structures including the Bellman hangars at the base this financial year.
The Prime Minister also announced that a contamination remediation project will be undertaken at the former fire training area located in the south east section of the base.
The remediation will involve the excavation and treatment of soil contaminated with approximately 950,000 litres of liquid hydrocarbons known as Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL) and will address potential safety and environmental risks.
The works will ultimately restore the site to a natural looking state and in a condition that supports continued Defence use.