Business bulletin: 28 July 2022

Clough-BMD Joint Ventures has been awarded the construction tender for the ship lift. This major project milestone paves the way for hundreds of jobs. It also positions Darwin as a major international and national player in the marine services industry.

The selection of Clough-BMD Joint Ventures follows a 3 stage procurement process which spanned 2 years.

The ship lit will employ 250 people at the peak of construction. It will generate and maintain hundreds of local jobs in the maritime support sector. The ship lift is also a key piece of enabling infrastructure for the future marine industry park.

Capable of servicing large vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes, the ship lift will be used for multiple industries including offshore petroleum, fishing, pearling, Border Force and Defence.

This project will deliver:

• a ship lift 26m wide, 103m long and 6m deep, with a lifting capability of 5,000 tonnes
• wet berths, similar to wharves that allow vessels to undertake in-water maintenance
• hard stand areas for ship repair and maintenance works
• a blast and paint building, to allow vessels to be sand blasted and repainted in a controlled environment
• self-propelled modular transporter units that transport the ships around the facility once they are out of the water
• an administration building
• East Arm utilities upgrades to support the ship lift and broader marine industry park development.

The facility will feature 2 separate areas, one of which will be privately operated. The other area will be designated as a common user facility, which will enable vessel owners to choose and manage their own services and maintenance providers on the site.

It is anticipated that the ship lift will be operational by the end of 2024.

For further information about the ship lift, go to the Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet website.

The Northern Territory will become Australia’s first manufacturer of the Albatross G-111T following a signing between Amphibian Aerospace Industries (AAI) and ShinMaywa in Japan last week.

The Albatross G-111T is an amphibious aircraft which can take off and touch down from land, snow, ice and water. ShinMayawa manufactures the US-2 amphibious aircraft in Japan. They are one of the few manufactures globally of an amphibian aircraft and have advanced knowledge in areas such as water landing safety, bird strike hardening and anti-corrosion as well as significant engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

The Northern Territory Government is investing up to $10 million into Amphibian Aircraft Holdings Pty Ltd through the Local Jobs Fund, to build upgraded versions of the Albatross amphibious aircraft in Darwin.

Chairman of Amphibian Aircraft Holdings Group, Khoa Hoang, said, “AAI would like to recognise ShinMaywa as a world leader in amphibious aircraft. We are looking forward to cooperating with them as we grow our capabilities to manufacture the G-111T in the Northern Territory.”

“The G-111T will bring much needed transport capabilities to many countries to help in moving people, medical supplies, goods and services to remote and isolated communities.”

AAI will also be the first tenant of a new aerospace manufacturing precinct at Darwin International Airport.

Once established, the Aerospace Manufacturing Precinct - Darwin will generate new jobs and opportunities for Territorians and position the Territory as a critical location in Australia for the aviation and advanced aerospace manufacturing sector.

The Albatross has a long and distinguished history but has not been commercially manufactures since the 1960s. It is a highly-regarded aircraft and evidence through market studies have demonstrated that there is a strong demand for it to fill an identified gap in the global aviation market.

Territory entrepreneurs and start-ups can now access valuable advice and support from leading innovation experts in the Territory and Australia to develop and commercialise their innovative business ideas.

The Business Innovation Program (BIP) 2.0 allows eligible businesses to choose from a range of advisors to receive one-on-one mentoring and support.

The BIP 2.0 advisors have extensive experience in supporting start-ups, business development and commercialisation and are based in Darwin, Alice Springs, and interstate.

Current advisors include:

• LeapSheep
• Rust 490
• River City Labs
• DNA Innovation
• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
• DICE
• Startup Onramp
• Darwin Innovation Hub
• Impact Innovation
• LarriKin Interactive
• Jamie Toyne Consulting.

Eligible businesses can receive up to $2,600 in advisory services to develop an innovation project plan and a pitch deck.

Program participants that demonstrate their innovation has investment potential and will deliver value for the Territory will also have an opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 in grant funding to further develop their product.

BIP 2.0 is a competitive grant program and applications are now open.

To view the advisors profiles, go to the Innovation website.

For further information and to apply, go to the Northern Territory Government website.

The tourism sector is being bolstered ahead of the Territory’s typically quieter low season with the launch of the Summer Starts Early in the NT campaign.

The Territory’s latest domestic tourism campaign is designed to inspire Australians to seek an early start to summer and book travel between September 2022 and March 2023, with enticing summer travel deals.

Tourism NT has partnered with Australian airlines, online travel retailers, travel agents and car hire companies for the Summer Starts Early in the NT campaign.

Early bird summer deals to the NT with campaign partners Virgin Australia, Webjet, Expedia, Travello, Holidays of Australia, Tripadvisor and Britz will deliver massive savings to consumers.

The campaign will include TV and cinema ads, digital advertising and publicity. It will also feature real time weather report comparisons to inspire Australians to escape the polar blast and start their summer early, in the NT.

The NT tourism industry providers are encouraged to highlight their products and get involved with the campaign.

To learn more and download the industry toolkit, go to the Tourism NT website.

Northern Territory based not-for-profits and organisations can now access grant funding for projects that will benefit the community via the Community Benefit Fund major grant round.

In the latest round of Community Benefit Fund major grants, 52 organisations across the Territory share $4.8 million in funding. The grants support a range of events, infrastructure upgrades, new equipment and gifted vehicles including:

• Junior Police Rangers Land Association - $194,560 to upgrade facilities at Goanna Park on the Arnhem Highway
• RSPCA Darwin - $150,000 for an on-site education and training centre
• Kentish Lifelong Learning and Care - $250,000 for a landscaping project and community garden at the Tennant Creek Child Care Centre
• Central Australia Territory Craft - $100,000 for pop up exhibition spaces from converted shipping containers
• Victoria Daly Regional Council - $150,000 to refurbish the Pine Creek Community Playground
• Gove Yacht Club - $169,528 to replace roofing and shade structures
• Girl Guides Association - $121,187 to upgrade the local hall at Katherine.

Event grants over 3 years have been awarded to 8 Territory groups to conduct festivals, shows, concerts, and carnivals, while 6 groups were gifted vehicles.

The current round of Community Benefit Fund grants includes:

• Major community grants: funding of up to $250,000 is available to provide services, leisure activities and opportunities to Territorians.
• Community event grants: funding of up to $250,000 is available to conduct major community events for the benefits of Territorians.
• Vehicle gifts: ex government vehicles gifted to organisations to assist with their service delivery.

The Community Benefit Fund receives money from levies imposed on gaming machines at licensed venues to distribute to not-for-profit community groups and regional councils.

There are 2 major grant rounds each year, with round 1 for 2022-23 now open until 31 August 2022.

To apply, go to the Northern Territory Government website or contact the Community Benefit Fund on 1300 650 153.