Source: New Zealand Government
The Minister of Defence, Peeni Henare, has announced the Government will invest $47 million into a large new engineering facility at Linton Army Camp, to replace existing workshops.
The New Zealand Army maintenance facility, to be built in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, will be used to maintain and upgrade specialist military vehicles, weapons, and equipment in a state of the art, sustainably designed workshop.
At the peak of construction, the project will employ 120 workers largely from the local region, and indirectly support 300 workers nationwide.
“When finished, this project will be the Army’s largest engineering and maintenance facility. This investment demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the hard-working men and women of the New Zealand Defence Force, and also the economic prosperity of the Manawatū-Whanganui region”, Peeni Henare said.
The new Linton Maintenance Facility has been designed with sustainability front of mind, and will promote energy efficiency. It will have an electric vehicle charging station, rainwater harvesting, low energy heating systems, and the ability to support solar and wind electricity generation.
The construction of this facility ensures that current and future generations of the NZDF will have access to sophisticated and well-maintained equipment, allowing them to respond to the needs of New Zealanders.
“Many of the engineering workshops at Linton Army Camp were built in the 1940s. The new workshops will support the Army’s primary operational force, 1 (NZ) Brigade, which services over 3,000 personnel and several hundred vehicles”, said Peeni Henare.
Defence has selected local New Zealand owned and operated company McMillan and Lockwood to build the facility, which is expected to open mid-2023.
Nearly 4000 people work for Defence in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, across Linton Military Camp, Hokowhitu Campus and Air Force Base Ohakea. Their combined wages come to around $235 million and make up more than 7% of wages paid in the region.
