Lendlease chief executive officer (building) Dale Connor visited Katherine this week saying the Joint Strike Fighter project is well underway and on track.

The F-35A will enter Australian service later this year, to replace the ageing F/A-18A Hornets.

With a completion date in sight at the end of next year, he said the company’s priorities of safety and community engagement have remained intact. 

“So far we have had one million man hours of work with no concerning injuries,” Mr Connor said. 

“Our leadership team continues to live here, and currently 30 houses in Katherine are rented by Lendlease. 

“We don’t see this as a fly-in fly-out job,” he said. 

Last year, Lendlease assured Katherine money was flowing from the vast Tindal upgrade, and have maintained this stance saying engaging local people was a priority. 

“We’re proud of being able to engage local contractors,” Mr Connor said. 

“Sixty-five per cent of contracts have gone to NT enterprises.

“We made a commitment to employ people in Katherine, and we are happy to maintain a presence and partnership in the area for a long time to come,” he said. 

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With 350 people working on the job at Tindal currently, Mr Connor said it is estimated 10-20 per cent of the workforce are Katherine based employees. 

And while the stage five project is well underway, Mr Connor said he is especially proud of the Transition to Work Program, currently training up 10 Indigenous workers for full time work and the recent Try A Trade Day. 

“An MoU has been signed with Katherine High School to get more students working in the industry and continue that connection,” Mr Connor said. 

“We had 150 kids come out and try their hand at concreting and construction. 

“We are here for a long period of time so we are interested in engaging the community to get the percentage of local participation as high as possible,” he said. 

Stage six of the Tindal upgrade, called KC-30A, will begin at the completion of the current project, and will provide another five to seven years of work, Mr Connor said. 

In November last year, an $870 million tender to upgrade Tindal RAAF base was put forward to Australia’s biggest contractors. 

The massive upgrades are making way for the F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and the KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport.

Featuring advanced communication and navigation systems, the KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport enables the Air Force to conduct air-to-air refuelling. 

Mr Connor said he is looking forward to a smooth transitions from one project to the next. 

“We want to show the community that we keep our presence and continue to employ locals,” Mr Connor said.