Marine products manufacturer Sealite has proposed a new $540 million technology precinct in Mornington Peninsula that will create up to 1,500 STEM-related jobs and generate at least $1.2 billion in economic value for the region and Victoria’s economy.
Sealite CEO Chris Procter said the proposal, which will also create up to 700 direct and indirect jobs during construction, has extensive benefits for the local economy and the local community.
“The Mornington Peninsula Technology Park will deliver hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic growth, and we are ready to get started now.”
“This is exactly the kind of project we believe the State Government and the Council would want to help us recover from the pandemic,” Mr. Procter said in a media release.
According to Sealite, the proposal will be of regional significance, unique to the Mornington Peninsula region, and will provide new community infrastructure, open spaces and active recreation facilities for surrounding residents.
The proposal, for a package of land on Bungower Road previously designated for use by the Port of Hastings, includes:
- 50 hectare, publicly accessible site with up to 25 hectares of green open space
- Low rise, low density facilities for clean tech businesses
- Jogging and bike paths for community, and a central playing field that could be ?designated for soccer or another local sport
- A revegetated wildlife corridor along its Western edge
- A focus on environmental sustainability in buildings and landscaping
- A redeveloped heritage precinct
Mr Procter said that Sealite, the anchor tenant for the precinct, has a pipeline of prospective upcoming work worth in excess of $260M.
“We’re seeing particular growth in defence spending on the upgrade of port infrastructure and military airfields. This is really significant work for Sealite, but also for the local region. Almost all of our staff live locally, and we will need to grow in order to deliver on these contracts. The new precinct is critical to that – we’re already transferring work to other sites and if we’re unable to build the facility we need, we will have to look at delivering even less of these contracts at our current location, which would be disappointing.”
The proposal forms part of an upcoming period of consultation by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, alongside a plan to build an industrial precinct at Hastings.
Mr Procter noted that the Hastings proposal, while generating substantial jobs and investment, cannot be delivered for some time due to the number of decisions and investigations that need to be made by MPSC and other authorities.
“We’re really pleased that the Council is looking at how to help the local economy recover from the pandemic, and we have no objection to the Hastings site being activated – it just won’t be able to happen for a number of years.”
“Our project is ready to deliver now. We’ve got funding lined up, we just need the Council to give us the green light.”
“The Mornington Peninsula Technology Park can start delivering jobs and growth inside the next 12 months. It will boost the local and state economy, it will benefit the local community, and it will deliver a great planning outcome for the Mornington Peninsula,” Mr Procter said.”
A project video has been released on Sealite’s website and the company is calling for community feedback on the proposal. Community consultation closes on 3rd August, 2020.
Image from Sealite
