Dongara Marine building facility officially opened just days after receiving $7.6 million contract

The Dongara Marine boat building facility had its official opening on Friday, coming in the same week of being awarded a $7.6 million contract.

Ports Minister Rita Saffioti was there for the opening, just days after she announced Dongara Marine had been given the contract to build two new pilot boats on March 14.

The facility will form part of a new precinct within the Geraldton Fishing Boat Harbour, which the State Government has invested $3.6 million to support the development of.

Ms Saffioti said it’s a success story to see a WA business growing so strongly.

“I first visited Dongara Marine in 2019 after we had awarded the contract to build the public transport ferry, we had a discussion about all the other potential work in the state,” she said.

“Dongara Marine is a leading example of a regional business that has embraced opportunity and invested in local people to develop the required skill sets to build a successful business.”

Dongara Marine manager Rohan Warr said it was important that the contract stayed local.

“Very happy to see the boats are built in WA, I reckon it’s a great thing to be putting West Australia products in West Australia ports” he said.

The opening comes on the same day the McGowan Government released the development plan for the Geraldton Fishing Boat Harbour.

Geraldton MP Lara Dalton said this is just the first step in the plan to grow Geraldton’s precinct even further.

“The opening of Dongara Marine is just the start of a new phase of growth for the fishing boat harbour, that will see local industries and local jobs grow into the future” she said.