Mammoth CFB Esquimalt construction project spans two decades
Although it’s been in the works since 1998, it’s likely few Victorians have noticed what will become one of Victoria’s largest new buildings.
Its formal name is FMF Cape Breton but it’s more commonly know as the Fleet Maintenance Unit, the Navy’s newest addition to CFB Esquimalt and the central hub for the repair and overhaul of Canada’s west coast naval fleet.
Artist's rendering showing the fully re-developed “Ship Repair Zone” at the Esquimalt Dockyard as it should appear upon completion of the FMF Shop Consolidation Project. Photo © Canadian Forces
Base spokesman Lt. Michael McWhinney says the colossal construction project will replace 32 obsolete buildings scattered throughout the base with three new buildings under one roof. The old buildings, some dating back to the Second World War, are being demolished one-by-one as the five phase project unfolds. Environmental soil remediation is being done on all cleared land.
McWhinney says the old buildings made for an inefficient workflow, with parts needing fabrication and repair being shuttled from building to building. In addition, the structures had insufficient utility services for modern needs.
Phase Four is currently under development and carries a price tag of $231 million. Canadian Forces is seeking funding for completion of the fifth phase, scheduled to begin in 2015.
When the project is completed, the Fleet Maintenance Facility will total over 310,000 square feet. The Wal-Mart Superstore currently under construction in Saanich has 215,000 square feet on two floors.
The construction of Phase Three was carried out by PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. Stuart Olsen is the contractor for the current phase.
The Canadian Forces employs 4,000 military personnel and 2,000 civilians locally and contributes $650 million to the region’s economy.
A thread dedicated to CFB Esquimalt and the Dockyard can be found here on VibrantVictoria’s discussion forum.
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Responses to this Headline or Article
The five most recent replies to VibrantVictoria.ca's discussion forum's [Esquimalt] Dockyard / Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt | U/C thread, the most relevant thread to the above headline or article:
dirtydeeds
Oct 27, 2011 at 10:22 pmAfter 2 billion dollars thoughts of scraping the submarine program??
AllseeingEye
Oct 27, 2011 at 10:44 pmAn incredibly poor purchase decision in retrospect so this wouldn't surprise me in the least. The
That is akin to letting your car sit on your boulevard for the same period of time, then deciding to turn over the engine one day and enter it into the Indy 500 the next. If Australia with less people and resources can design and build their own brand new attack subs from scratch, you'd think Canada at the very least couldv'e done better than to buy someone else's junk.....
In fact according to a senior defence department source who is a friend the "original" original plan that was (albeit very briefly) considered was Canada being offered 4 US Los Angeles-Class nuclear attack boats to fulfill the hunter killer role, for a grand sum of $1 per boat. The catch of course is they were slated by that time for retirement by the Americans, hence the deal would have seen them having to go to US naval yards for servicing and refurbishment to the tune of several hundred million dollars. Of course Canada, ever eager to project a global image of being your friendly neighborhood "warm and fuzzy" Good Guy, couldn't and didn't really seriously consider the offer primarily due to the fact the government figured the anti-nuclear brigade in this country especially would have a field day with nuclear powered submarines based in Esquimalt.
Bernard
Oct 28, 2011 at 1:05 pmAs Canada was considering replacing our Oberons, so was Australia. They chose to build their own. From the start of the contract to when the sixth and final sub was delivered it took 16 years. The final two subs were cancelled.
The six subs cost between $5 and $6 billion to build, close to a billion each.
There are only three in service at the moment and that will fall to two shortly.
HMAS Rankin has been out of service since 2008, it was launched in 2003. It is not expected to be in service till 2013 or later.
HMAS Sheean has been out of service since 2008 and will not be in service soon
HMAS Dechaineux it almost sunk in 2003 because of a construction error - it is in service
HMAS Waller it has had the fewest problems and is currently in service
HMAS Farncomb has had ongoing issues of things that break down
HMAS Collins the first ship of the class and plagued with problems.
After the problems with the Sheean, all the subs were out of service in 2003. In 2009, due to accidents and other issues, only one sub was operational. this happened again 2010.
A significant amount of work on the subs was done in Sweden.
The Victoria class subs are of roughly the same vintage and capabilities
So as crappy as our subs seen, it could be worse
Bingo
Oct 28, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Image
The Colombian Navy forces a handmade submarine, laden with 1.6 tons of cocaine, to make an unscheduled stop in the Pacific port of
Built of fiberglass and powered by ordinary marine diesel engines, most cocaine subs skim the surface of the Pacific undetected by radar as they cruise north from South America.
Costing about a million dollars each to build, most cocaine subs are scuttled after just one successful run.
AllseeingEye
Oct 28, 2011 at 3:13 pmJust to add to the story of the Upholder-class boats, at the time they were considered so stealthy that the US was adament during negotiations that if the UK was going to sell them they could only do so to Canada, a trusted ally.
My understanding is that had we backed out and the UK proceeded with the sale, that the US was quite prepared to outbid anyone to ensure they got the subs no matter the cost.
Of course we did purchase them and since our navies' exercise together more or less continuously a major benefit to the US is that they would gain practical experience tracking them under realistic conditions (when they are operatrional of course!); top notch modern diesel attack subs are as quiet, or quieter, than nuclear boats.
