Australia said it would spend 3.9 billion Australian dollars to progress the construction of a shipyard that will help deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS defence pact with the U.S. and Britain. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the 3.9 billion as a down payment to deliver the new shipyard in Osborne, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. Official projections put the total cost of the build at 30 billion Australian dollars over the coming decades, he said.

 

Announced in 2021, AUKUS is Australia’s largest-ever defence investment and will see U.S.-commanded Virginia-class submarines based in Australia from 2027, several Virginia submarines sold to Australia from around 2030, and Britain and Australia building a new class of AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine.