LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sir – Local Alice Springs construction company Scope Building has been awarded the $1.5m contract to fit-out the exhibition space for the Megafauna Display Centre in Todd Mall that will showcase Central Australia’s unique fossil heritage.
This is part of the government’s $20m revitalisation of the Alice Springs CBD.
The display will be an exciting new tourism product that will provide an important boost to local jobs and the tourism industry.
The display will open to the public in mid-2018 and will include eight million year old fossils recovered from the Alcoota fossil beds.
There may be as many as 3,000 individual animals buried at Alcoota, including the world’s largest bird, marsupial lions, marsupial wolves and herds of giant browsing cousins of the wombat.
The display will provide an exciting educational experience around how prehistoric animals may have looked and the living conditions at the time.
It will bring together the collection that is currently housed in different locations, and for the first time give it a home that will showcase this incredible collection.
I have been out to Engwala with the Member for Namatjira, Chansey Paech to meet with the community about the project and opportunities for the region in the future.
We are look forward to continuing to work with them so the people of Engwala can share their stories of the fossils.
The works include:-
• An exhibition area with modern facilities including a small reception, display furniture, seating for the public and toilet facilities.
• A public program space with storage spaces, benches and seating for the public to view the educational programs.
• A mezzanine area to accommodate a meeting room and six work stations, storage spaces and an upgrade of the existing kitchen.
• A safe, secure and environmentally friendly external space for chemical storage, acid preparation, emergency eyewash / shower facility, flammable goods cabinet, compressor set up, acid storages and acid dispenser.
A second contract was also awarded to the building owner GF & JE Heaslip Pty Ltd for upgrades to the humidity control system within the building. These works are expected to be complete early 2018.
The display will be an exciting new tourism product that will provide an important boost to local jobs and the tourism industry.
The display will open to the public in mid-2018 and will include eight million year old fossils recovered from the Alcoota fossil beds.
There may be as many as 3,000 individual animals buried at Alcoota, including the world’s largest bird, marsupial lions, marsupial wolves and herds of giant browsing cousins of the wombat.
The display will provide an exciting educational experience around how prehistoric animals may have looked and the living conditions at the time.
It will bring together the collection that is currently housed in different locations, and for the first time give it a home that will showcase this incredible collection.
I have been out to Engwala with the Member for Namatjira, Chansey Paech to meet with the community about the project and opportunities for the region in the future.
We are look forward to continuing to work with them so the people of Engwala can share their stories of the fossils.
The works include:-
• An exhibition area with modern facilities including a small reception, display furniture, seating for the public and toilet facilities.
• A public program space with storage spaces, benches and seating for the public to view the educational programs.
• A mezzanine area to accommodate a meeting room and six work stations, storage spaces and an upgrade of the existing kitchen.
• A safe, secure and environmentally friendly external space for chemical storage, acid preparation, emergency eyewash / shower facility, flammable goods cabinet, compressor set up, acid storages and acid dispenser.
A second contract was also awarded to the building owner GF & JE Heaslip Pty Ltd for upgrades to the humidity control system within the building. These works are expected to be complete early 2018.
Lauren Moss
Minister for Tourism and Culture
IMAGE: Alcoota Dromornis Impression by Adam Yates.
According to Tenders Online – the $1.27m (not $1.5m) building fit out tender was a “select” tender and not put out to open market.
Interesting. A contract given for a building owned by CLP stalwarts by a Labor Government?