Department of Defence LEA Monegeetta

Client: Department of Defence
Location: Victoria
Project: Construction of new buildings and refurbishment of existing building
Completion Date: March 2011
Completion Time: 26 Months
Value: $37 Million

This project involved the construction of two new buildings and modifications and refurbishment to the existing Headquarters Building at LEA Monegeeta.
Building 61 is a new firing tunnel (25m & 100m) including weapons and ammunition storage facilities and Building 60 consists of new offices, workshops and a range of testing laboratories – Electro Magnetic Chambers to test electrical interference; Heavy Vibration Testing Equipment (including 450t seismic mass supported on air bags) for testing military equipment to withstand environmental vibration; hot chamber for testing equipment and vehicles up to 70 degrees and 95% humidity; cold chamber for testing equipment and vehicles down to -30 degrees; calibration and other equipment testing facilities.
To meet the strict Department of Defence security requirements, one kilometre of perimeter fencing was installed around the operational site, together with cameras and monitoring devices. This was a critical element of the project as LEA Monegeetta is an active testing facility and high security area. All works outside the confines of our site had to be coordinated to ensure it did not conflict with the daily operations and security protocols of LEA.
The project scope included: Electronics and Communications Laboratory; Mechanical and Environmental Laboratories; Construction of a new Enclosed Light Armaments Facility (ELAF) with an approximate GFA of 920m2; Construction of a new Petrols, Oils and Lubricants (POL) store; Administration, Stores and Amenities; Supporting infrastructure and Civil works including new heavy, medium and light duty concrete pavement and asphalt to accommodate the various vehicles (tanks, trucks etc) used at the facility.