Shearwater Construction Projects
BG – 07.014 - May 11, 2007
Shearwater's history reflects the evolution of flying in Canada and indeed the growth of Canada's Air Force. 12 Wing Shearwater is one of the oldest military airfields in Canada having been home to Canada's air squadrons for the past 80 years, providing continuous service longer than any other Canadian military air base.
Created as a US sea base in 1918, Shearwater subsequently became an airbase for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Royal Canadian Navy. With the integration of the Armed Forces in 1968, Shearwater became a Canadian Forces Base.
Today, 12 Wing Shearwater employs 851 CF members and 39 civilian employees and continues in its original role of safeguarding the sovereignty of our coastal waters and helping to protect Canadian interests abroad.
TIMELINE
Prior to 1994, the Department of National Defence (DND) operated two bases within the Halifax
Dartmouth area: Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax and 12 Wing Shearwater. While both bases supported numerous military units, the primary role of CFB Halifax (located mainly on the west side of the harbour) was to support the Atlantic naval fleet, and the primary role of 12 Wing Shearwater (located on the east side of the harbour) was to support fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter operations.
On February 22, 1994, as part of the Defence Expenditure Reductions, DND announced plans to reduce departmental costs by consolidating base infrastructure. The 12 Wing Shearwater site was transferred to CFB Halifax, and was reduced from a military airfield to a military heliport.
On September 1, 1995, Shearwater officially became a heliport. The surplus realty assets were originally transferred to a local development agency known as the Shearwater Development Corporation. After the corporation ceased operation in 1999, DND resumed control of the property. In March 2002, the Department sold 373.12 hectares of surplus land at 12 Wing Shearwater to the Canada Lands Company (CLC).
In November of 2004, under the Maritime Helicopter Project (MHP), two contracts were awarded to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. The first contract, worth $1.8 billion, covers the acquisition of 28 CH-148 Cyclones and ship modifications. The second contract, valued at $3.2 billion, is for a 20-year in-service support contract whereby DND is required to provide functional space within 12 Wing infrastructure for Sikorsky to set up various integrated support services.
While defining the operational requirements to convert the Shearwater airfield to a heliport, DND concluded that some of the surplus land previously sold to CLC would have to be reacquired. In July 2006, in order to support the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project, a market-value land exchange transaction was completed with CLC, in accordance with Government of Canada policy. The
Department received three parcels of land totalling 154.83 hectares in exchange for one parcel of 34.35 hectares.
SHEARWATER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
The need to ensure safe CH-124 Sea King operations, upgrade Shearwater’s aging infrastructure and support the upcoming introduction of the CH-148 Cyclone fleet will necessitate a significant number of infrastructure improvements and additions to be implemented at 12 Wing Shearwater.
The Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project: The airfield infrastructure (landing area, taxiway, approach lighting and training areas) will be updated to support safe CH-124 Sea King operations and future CH-148 Cyclone operations.
In-Service Support Facilities: In addition to the Shearwater Heliport Conversion Project, three in-service supportfacilities will be constructed. They are as follows:
423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron Facility: This will include the demolition of an existing hangar and the subsequent construction of a squadron operations facility to accommodate the first line maintenance and servicing functions of the 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron (423 Squadron) and the 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron (406 Squadron).
12 Air Maintenance Squadron Facility: 12 Air Maintenance Squadron currently operates out of four hangars that do not meet current and future operational demands. As a result, the construction of a first and second line maintenance facility to accommodate 12 Air Maintenance Squadron is required.
12 Wing Common Support Facility: This project will consist of the construction of a common support facility. The facility will accommodate the MHP contractor’s warehouse operation and field office, 12 Wing Shearwater Operations staff, the Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility and aircrew flight planning and support functions.
The table below summarizes the estimated project costs, inclusive of taxes.
Project
Estimated Total
423 Helicopter Squadron
$ 44.4 million
12 Air Maintenance Squadron facility
$ 49.3 million
12 Wing Common Support facility
$ 51.6 million
Shearwater Heliport Conversion facility
$ 24.7 million
Total:
$ 170 million
Several other projects are either ongoing or at various stages of development. As part of the MHP contract, the Maritime Helicopter Training Centre is being constructed and will accommodate air and ground crew training for the new Cyclone fleet. A project to provide the required water pressure to operate the fire suppression systems in the new hangars that will house the new maritime helicopter fleet is near completion. In addition, future plans are being made with regard to upgrading a central heating plant and water and sewer lines, as well as telecommunications and information services.
The image below represents 12 Wing Shearwater. The area encircled in orange details the land currently owned by DND. The infrastructure superimposed in yellow represent the three in-service support facilities to be built.
The Department of National Defence and Defence Construction Canada developed a series of open, fair and transparent competitive processes in order to initiate the construction of both the heliport conversion and the new in-service support facilities. Defence Construction Canada (DCC) is a Crown corporation, accountable to the federal government through Public Works and Government Services Canada. DCC was responsible for all aspects of the contracting process for these projects.
