At least $30 billion will be spent building a construction yard to eventually build nuclear submarines for Australia under the AUKUS agreement.
The federal government announced on Sunday it had pledged $3.9 billion as a down payment to secure the future of the Submarine Construction Yard in the northern Adelaide suburb of Osborne.
The government hopes the project will create 10,000 jobs in design and construction as well as up to 1,000 apprentices per year at an onsite training facility.
The staggering cost of the facility is laid bare by the sheer size of the footprint being designed.
Enough steel to make 17 Eiffel Towers as well as 710,000 cubic metres of structural concrete will be used in the construction of the 420 metre-long fabrication hall.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists the $3.9 billion would "pale in comparison" to the $30 billion in investment associated with the construction of the yard.
"This infrastructure alone, $30 billion before a single widget on the submarine is built, is something that will set our economy up well and truly for the next decade and beyond," Albanese told reporters on Sunday.
The future of AUKUS has been under a cloud for months since the United States announced it would review the terms of the agreement.
But Albanese dismissed concerns that the promised shipyard would never see an AUKUS vessel.
"This is in the interest of the United States, in the interests of the UK and in the interests of Australia," he said.
The eye-watering price tag comes from an estimate provided by Australian Naval Infrastructure, the government's hand-picked company tasked with delivering the AUKUS facility.
As well as construction, the new yard will include capability for the testing and commission of the submarines.
An estimate for how long the yard will take to complete or whether the $30 billion figure will increase was not confirmed.
Defence has become a boom industry for South Australia with the country's first missile factory recently opening in Port Wakefield.
Osborne already hosts the existing facilities for Collins-class and Hunter-class subs.
"There were 1200 people working at Holden when it closed, 4000 will be required to construct this facility," Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
"It is hard for South Australians to genuinely comprehend the amount of high-paid skilled work that has come our way."
The announcement of a decades-long infrastructure commitment comes at a good time for the premier, who is a month away from the state election.
A poll on Wednesday showed Labor holding a 61-39 lead over the Liberals on two-party-preferred.
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