Hanwha’s $1bn AFV centre brings commercial opportunity to Avalon

Hanwha’s new $1bn specialist armoured vehicle manufacturing facility near Avalon in the Greater Geelong region of Victoria.

The Linfox-operated Avalon Airport could become Australia’s next major military hub following South Korean defence manufacturer Hanwha announcing the Victorian airport as the home of a new $170m armoured fighting vehicle centre.

Airport property has been running hot around the country with a Dexus-led consortium swooping on Perth’s Jandakot airport and surrounding logistics land in a $1.3bn play and Logos funds securing Qantas land next to Sydney airport for $802m.

Hanwha won the largest defence contract of any foreign contractor in history – totalling $1.3bn – late last year, but decided on the Victorian ­location only last week.

Avalon Airport chief executive Justin Giddings said he was confident that the new AFV centre would spark a wave of interest among defence manufacturers and Hanwha suppliers, who would find plenty of opportunity in the area.

“There’s a lot of opportunities in developing a defence cluster with Hanwha being the anchor,” he said. “With the airport being a high-security environment, located between Melbourne and Geelong in an area that is more secure, we think it’s an ideal environment.”

Hanwha plans, which are set to cost $170m, will result in the development of multiple assembly lines, a 1500m test track, a deepwater testing facility and an obstacle course to test vehicle capability.

An artist’s impression of the AFV centre.

Hanwha Defence Australia managing director Richard Cho said the Department of Defence grant allowed the company to build a state-of-the-art facility at the airport.

“We will build a modern facility here in Victoria to manufacture armoured vehicles and utilise the skilled and experienced workforce available to us in Geelong,” he said. “Our facility will be a genuine centre of excellence, one that we can expand and adapt to fulfil different projects across different domains in the future.”

Mr Giddings said Avalon Airport hoped that new development would bring the first direct flights from Victoria to South Korea.

“We’re the second international airport for Victoria and it’s a growing airport,” he said. “What I’d really like to see is flights to South Korea given that we have the Hanwha defence headquarters.”

Mr Cho agreed, saying that he hoped the new facility would be the beginning of new-formed partnerships. “With Australia’s proximity to Republic of Korea, and the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, I think it is likely Hanwha’s Australian facility will also become an important secondary line of supply back to South Korea. It may also help Hanwha fulfil contracts in other parts of the world,” he said.

Avalon Airport had been inviting development offers for several years since it launched its industrial precincts in 2016 in partnership with the state government, Mr Giddings said.

“We want to see a lot of people setting up at the airport and we want to have an employment precinct.”