PRAECO, a consortium established by Leighton Contractors and ABN AMRO , has been announced as the preferred contractor to design, construct, operate and maintain the new Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) project for the Australian Defence Force. The $300 million HQJOC project, located near Bungendore NSW, about 20 km east of Canberra, will provide Defence with its first fully-integrated command and control headquarters. It is due for completion by 2008. About 400 people will be employed during the peak of construction which is scheduled to begin late September 2006.

The HQJOC, deigned by leading Australian architects Rice Daubney, will have a five-star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating and will be self sufficient in water supply and on-site sewage treatment. The Military Support Buildings will consolidate all messes, recreational, maintenance and facilities support requirements into one complex enabling the Headquarters complex to be substantially self-sustainable on this remote site.

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Source: Construction Contractor