The impact of present supply chain disruptions on the recently announced Scott Base build at PrimePort Timaru remain unknown, the lead contractor for the project says. "We have issues now, but whether they are there when it's time to build is difficult to say," Leighs Construction chief executive Gary Walker said.
Antarctica New Zealand announced on November 5 that the new $344 million Scott Base would be constructed at PrimePort Timaru with work expected to start towards the end of 2022 once planning and design were completed.
The build project was expected to create 700 jobs through to 2028 with 170 employed at its peak. The new Scott Base will be constructed in modular form on 8 hectares of land east of PrimePort's logging yard with the Timaru District Council agreeing to spend $1.5m upgrading essential infrastructure. The existing Scott Base will be demolished in 2023.
