BESIX Watpac wins tender to build Hobart's Macquarie Point stadium
BESIX Watpac will build Hobart's Macquarie Point Stadium, the ABC understands.
The construction firm won a two-horse tender race for the waterfront project. A fixed-price contract is expected to be signed before Christmas, according to ABC News.
The rival was a consortium headed by Italian firm WeBuild. BESIX Watpac edged it out to progress to the second and final stage of the tender process.
WeBuild had come under scrutiny after revelations it was facing charges in New South Wales relating to alleged workplace safety breaches.
The final cost is still to be locked in. Detailed exclusive negotiations with BESIX Watpac will continue over the next two months.
That figure is the one to watch. The project carries a $1.13 billion budget that has not been publicly updated since late last year. The Tasmanian government is bound by an $875 million cap on state funding under an agreement with upper house MP Bec Thomas, who voted in favour of the stadium progressing in December last year.
In May, Tasmania's lower house passed a Greens motion calling for an updated cost estimate to be revealed by August.
BESIX Watpac arrives with fresh stadium form. It recently completed Christchurch's 30,000-seat roofed One New Zealand Stadium two months early in June at a cost of just over $650 million.
As part of a joint venture with John Holland, it has also won the contract to build Brisbane's new 63,000-seat Olympic stadium, slated to cost about $3.6 billion.
Site works at Macquarie Point began in July. The stadium is not expected to be complete until December 2030.
Building the stadium on the edge of the Hobart CBD is a requirement of the Tasmania Devils' entry into the AFL and AFLW from 2028. That means the club will begin life before its permanent home is ready.
The Devils will become the competition's 19th men's team, with a women's team to follow. For newcomers to the game, that licence was conditional. No stadium, no team.
The road here has been long. Australian firm COX Architecture was named as lead design consultant back in May 2024. The state government opened an expression of interest for final design and construction in January 2026, and two bidders were shortlisted in April. In July, the Macquarie Point Development Corporation said a preferred contractor was expected to be chosen in October.
For fans, this is the moment the argument shifts. The design debates and the price fight have run for years. Now there is a builder, ground already being prepared, and a fixed-price deal due by Christmas.
