Major construction works on the $250 million North Queensland Stadium in Townsville is close to commencing, with Watpac Constructions finalising the contract for managing contractor services for Stage 2 of the project.
The company has been working with the Queensland Government over the past months to finalise the design and the contract value for the multi-million dollar project.
Watpac was officially appointed as the managing contractor for the project in May 2017, and the company has commenced Stage 1 works on site in August of the same year. Stage 1 of the project included early preparation as well as civil works for the new stadium.
The new North Queensland Stadium is going to be home to the North Queensland Cowboys and it will feature approximately 25,000 seats as well as corporate facilities, permanent stand and concessions and modern amenities.
The North Queensland Stadium is expected to employ up to 2,000 people across the design and construction phases.
The iconic sporting stadium is going to be built by the local Townsville people, with Watpac targeting to have more than 80 per cent of hours building the stadium be by locals and at least 80 per cent of the project value be spent on local subcontractors and suppliers.
“The Group is committed to local content and indigenous employment opportunities and to date 95.7 per cent of total hours worked on site has been undertaken by local subcontractors, with 22.6 per cent of the current workforce on site identifying as indigenous.
“As a business which has been part of the Townsville community for 20 years, we’re committed to providing opportunities for North Queensland residents and look forward to working with some great local businesses as we commence construction proper,” Watpac Construction Northern Region Manager Bryan Glancy said.
Construction of the new stadium is expected to be completed in time for the 2020 National Rugby League season.
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Source: Watpac; Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning