Builders given chance to bid for JCU project
CONSTRUCTION of a landmark Technology Innovation Complex at James Cook University is a step closer with the calling of expressions of interest for a principal contractor.
The five-level, 9400 sqm complex will be the centrepiece of an innovation hub that will bring together graduate and postgraduate students as well as industry partners and researchers.
It will be developed alongside an Ideas Market on the Townsville campus’s Mount Stuart St, while, in a separate project, a new seven-level student accommodation building is to be built on the other side of the Ideas Market plaza, also on Mount Stuart St.
In welcoming federal funding for the project, JCU vice chancellor Professor Sandra Harding has said the Technology Innovation Complex will deliver leading-edge science, technology, engineering and mathematics research and educational facilities.
It is part of $174 million worth of projects to modernise the university’s campus.
Professor Marcus Lane, deputy vice chancellor, Tropical Environments and Societies, says it will bring together research and innovation to support business and the community, involving STEM, big data and analytics, information technology and technology transformation.
“We expect the Technology Innovation Complex will lead to a further boost in enrolment in STEM higher education degrees, and play an integral role in training the next generation of employees and entrepreneurs in STEM,” Prof Lane said.
“It will help build a workforce that will meet the needs of the future economy and help drive prosperity in the North for years to come.”
The Ideas Market fronting Mount Stuart St and on the western edge of the Technology Innovation Complex is included in the scope of work.
According to expression of interest documents, the Ideas Market will be an urban centre that supports the next generation of thinkers and leaders.
The design of the Technology Innovation Complex includes reinforced concrete frame construction and transparent facades that will be shaded by large roof overhangs and other treatments.
The contractor will be required to comply with an Australian Industry Participation Plan and Indigenous Engagement Strategy, while the project also triggers the Federal Government’s Code for Tendering and Building Performance where the Commonwealth contributes to building work of at least $10 million in value.
The complex is part of a broader series of projects that will modernise facilities and reduce the footprint of the campus around a new Townsville Central Plaza. Learning and teaching buildings will be refurbished, while other ageing buildings will be decommissioned as university activities are brought closer together, creating a more vibrant campus heart.
The Federal Government has committed up to $96 million from its Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to develop the Technology Innovation Complex. The project is expected to create 270 jobs with construction due to begin in November and be complete by September 2022.