Work under way on hub
THE company building the State Government’s controversial 1000-bed quarantine facility outside Toowoomba say hundreds of locals are already working on the project.
Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner said up to 250 workers were currently building the dwellings for the hub, which will be located near the company’s Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport.
Mr Wagner, who had previously said the family-owned business was staking its reputation on delivering the project on-time, believed it was on track to be open before the end of the year.
“We’re just full steam ahead now — we’re doing underground services, (and) we’re about start pouring concrete foundations, so things are happening quickly,” he said.
“Between on-site and offsite work, because some of the buildings are being built offsite, I’d say maybe 200 to 250 workers are being used right now.
“It’s a big thing for Toowoomba — we’ll see our fullblown (accommodation) modules coming off the production line within three weeks, so you’ll see buildings going up and a lot of concrete being poured.”
Hutchinson Builders is building the accommodation dwellings, while local firms Newlands, Brown Steel and Clearspan are also completing some of the other structures at the site.
“A lot of the ancillary buildings are steel frame so there are ones being built by Clearspan, Brown Steel, and Newlands,” Wagner Corp director Denis Wagner said.
In some cases, they’re finishing the buildings, so they are turnkey projects.
“These are the service buildings for maintenance, storage, security and administration,” Mr Wagner said.
Denis Wagner said the company would use its composite fibre technology in some of the walking bridges between the dwellings.
A certain amount of the concrete would be Wagners’ Earth-Friendly Concrete brand, Mr Wagner said.