New plan for Scott Base redevelopment
Antarctica New Zealand is resetting its Scott Base Redevelopment project.
The most recent plan is to build a new accommodation and living building, to refurbish the Hillary Field Centre, to scope a third building for workshops, plant and machinery, and to extend the life of current buildings where practicable.
An Independent Review Panel of construction, engineering and large project experts recommended using a small modular construction methodology that allows for containerised delivery and conventional shipping to Antarctica. Some of the new construction will be conventional framing built onsite.
The new plan means Antarctica New Zealand will not proceed with the proposed three-building design, using a large module construction methodology. Transport of the modules was considered to carry too great a risk and the need for fewer new buildings made it less viable economically.
Antarctica New Zealand’s board chair, Leon Grice, says the decision by the board in 2023 to pause and undertake options analysis paved the way for the Independent Review. “This work has allowed the board to resolve a way forward with confidence and ensure we deliver the redevelopment scope within the budget set aside in the Government’s tagged contingency.
“We are re-establishing governance oversight and the project team, revising the design work and commencing detailed costings. “We are highly focused on providing a year-round safe and functional base for our staff and the scientists we support who undertake world-class science,” Leon says.
Antarctica New Zealand Chief Executive, Sarah Williamson, says the reasons to redevelop Scott Base remain. “New Zealand needs safe and fit-for-purpose infrastructure that can withstand extreme conditions and support world leading science. Antarctica is extreme, remote, and unforgiving. We need a fully self-sufficient off-the-grid building for the coldest, windiest, harshest place on Earth. “Our goal is to turn the key in the 2028/29 season.”
Did you know? The Scott Base Redevelopment was paused in 2023 because the cost to build and deliver the three interconnected buildings exceeded the $498 million budgeted.
Image: Scott Base 2023 by Anthony Powell Antarctica New Zealand
