Ōhakea Air Force base: Sod turns as construction of home for No 5 Squadron begins

Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Clark, chief of the Air Force (from left), Defence Minister Peeni Henare and Mike Yardley, deputy secretary, capability delivery, at the sod-turning event for the Air Force's new facility at Ōhakea.

The construction of the Ōhakea home for the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s new aircraft will be one of the most complex building projects undertaken by the Defence Force.

The new facility at the Ōhakea Air Force Base will house No 5 Squadron and the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The facility will be called Te Whare Toroa, a name inspired by the albatross on No 5 Squadron’s crest.

Defence Minister Peeni Henare attended the sod-turning ceremony at Ōhakea Airbase on Tuesday as the project got officially under way.

"The start of the construction of this facility is a major milestone for the project team, working to bring four new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to New Zealand in 2023," Henare said.

The aircraft will replace the P-3K2 Orions which have been in use since the 1960s and are approaching the end of their operational life.

The new facility will be called Te Whare Toroa and will be the new home for the No 5 Squadron.

Like the Orions, the P-8A Poseidon aircraft will deliver support to New Zealand's maritime surveillance, resource protection, humanitarian and disaster responses, both in New Zealand and further overseas.

In the past decade, 200 lives were saved in the wider search and rescue region patrolled by the Orions.

"The purchase of these aircraft and the construction of large facilities like Te Whare Toroa demonstrates the Government's commitment to the security of New Zealand, its neighbours in the Pacific and the wider world," Henare said.

The building works for the P-8A Poseidon aircraft will be one of the largest and most complex construction projects undertaken by the Ministry of Defence and New Zealand Defence Force. Hawkins Construction has been awarded the contract to build the facility.

The total cost of the construction at Ōhakea is more than $250 million, and at the peak of construction 400 workers will be on site.