The Immigration Reception and Processing Centre set up by the Australian Federal Government at the country’s remote Christmas Island has been installed with a full range of ideal flooring systems from Flowcrete Australia to meet a variety of demanding requirements.
Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, some 2,600km northwest of Perth and 500km south of Jakarta, Indonesia and famous for its Red Crabs and other wildlife, Christmas Island is home to the Federal Government’s new Immigration Centre.
The facility comprises accommodation, sports facilities, medical care, general living quarters and places of worship.
For the accommodation wing, an extremely tough flooring system was required, with around 1,000 square metres of Flowcrete’s Flowshield being installed to provide a hard-wearing, hygienic surface.
At the amenities block, over 4,000 square metres of Flowcoat OP, an epoxy system, was used to coat the walls, providing a high gloss, slightly stippled finish, for ease of cleaning.
In the commercial kitchen area, the specification was for a hard-wearing floor finish with a slip-resistant surface. Here 1,000 square metres of Flowcoat SF41 composite system was installed, helping to achieve compliance with national safety standards.
In the outdoor recreational areas, some 5,400 square metres of Flowcrete’s polyurethane UV stable Deckshield system was installed to provide a hard-wearing, slip resistant finish, capable of withstanding exposure to the harsh sunlight.
The entire facility consists of over 20 buildings and throughout the project, Flowcrete’s Flowtex HT was used widely to build up ramps, repair voids and rectify other potential hazards.
For added hygiene and ease of cleaning, over 3,000 linear metres of Flowtex HT epoxy coving was installed in the amenities block, living quarters and other areas.
Flowcrete’s Country Manager, Tony Di Girolamo, said, “Flowcrete was selected for this major project because we were able to provide a full range of specialist systems to meet the differing criteria across the floorzone.
“The UV stable nature of our Deckshield system was a particular factor in helping us secure the work.”
Due to the isolated location of the Centre, the project posed significant logistics challenges for Flowcrete and its approved applicator Aquajet Contracting throughout the 11,000 square metre installation.
