Tender for childcare centre awarded

The Shire of Ashburton has awarded Pindan Contracting Pty Ltd the tender for the design and construction of a modern, purpose-built Child Care Centre in Paraburdoo.

The new $4.66 million childcare centre located in the Paraburdoo town centre will have provision for 73 long-term and after-school care places.

It will provide children and families with a modern and safe facility, including landscaped playground and shaded areas.

The tenders were reviewed at the August Ordinary Meeting of Council on August 19, with the project now ready to move into the construction phase.

Shire of Ashburton President Kerry White said the Shire looked forward to working with Pindan Contracting to bring this much needed infrastructure to completion.

“Awarding the tender means building of the centre can progress, and that residents will start to see activity on site,” she said.

“The new Child Care Centre is a major milestone in providing greater support to families living in Paraburdoo and we are now a big step closer to this being accessible to the community.”

The new childcare centre is one of the numerous community projects being delivered as part of a long term partnership between the Shire of Ashburton and Rio Tinto which aim to improve the liveability of Paraburdoo, Tom Price and Pannawonica.

Rio Tinto general manager Communities Ben Laidlaw said he was pleased to see the development of Paraburdoo Child Care Centre progress to this stage.

“I would like to thank Paraburdoo residents for their ongoing support and patience as the Shire of Ashburton and Rio Tinto have progressed this project together over the last couple of years,” he said.

“It is wonderful to see the hard work coming to fruition and that a new and improved child care facility will soon be available for Paraburdoo.”

Pilbara Development Commission Acting Chief Executive Officer Terry Hill said the child care centre would be a welcome addition for families living in the inland community.

“Access to quality child care services will assist Paraburdoo families to achieve a better work-life balance, while also providing additional education and socialisation opportunities for children,” he said.

“Providing quality community services improves the long term retention of residents, which supports the Pilbara Cities vision of growing regional centres into vibrant, sustainable communities that people choose to call home.”

Headworks are currently underway at the site and it is expected that building construction for the new centre will commence late 2015.

This project is supported by the State Governments Royalties for Regions Pilbara Cities Initiative, administered by the Pilbara Development Commission, Rio Tinto and the Shire of Ashburton.