Following the successful completion of the AlbuRx and Aurora facilities in Broadmeadows for CSL Behring, A.G. Coombs has been engaged to deliver mechanical services systems for a new CSL Seqirus Facility in Tullamarine.
CSL Seqirus – a wholly owned subsidiary of CSL Limited – is constructing a new world-class biotech manufacturing facility in Melbourne. This state-of-the-art facility will be the only cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in the Southern Hemisphere, producing seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines as well as Seqirus’ proprietary adjuvant MF59®.
Expected to be operational from 2026, the facility is located within the Melbourne Airport Business Park in Tullamarine.
Since mid-2023, up to 80 A.G. Coombs personnel were working on the installation at any one time.
Construction of the NDY consortia designed facility is being managed by builder BESIX Watpac.
The scope of works includes the installation of mechanical services within the FCC (Flu Cell Culture) building, as well as the central chilled water (CHW) plant, heating hot water (HHW) and steam plant, heat rejection (cooling tower) plant and associated pumps accommodated within an adjacent utilities building. A.G. Coombs is also providing connections of these services for the PNS (Products of National Significance) and administration buildings under construction.
This follows an agreement with the Australian Government to secure the ongoing onshore manufacture and supply over ten years for influenza pandemic vaccines.
Due in large part to our successful involvement in the delivery of CSL Behring’s AlbuRx and Aurora facilities in Broadmeadows, A.G. Coombs was engaged in the project at early contractor involvement (ECI) stage before being awarded a $40 million mechanical services construct-only contract in early 2022.
In addition, the facility will manufacture unique products important to Australia’s public health needs including anti-venom for snakes, spiders and marine creatures, and the world’s only human vaccine for Q-Fever.
Working to a water systems mechanical services design by project lead consultant NDY, and an air systems design by WSP, A.G. Coombs commenced detailed engineering in April 2022 and was onsite from late 2022.
The four-level FCC building features mechanical services plant on both the lower and top levels – a configuration allowing for maintenance without impacting the manufacturing spaces. Level 1 accommodates the facility’s thermal and process manufacturing plantrooms and clean rooms, while Level 4 contains the main air handling plantroom. The two middle levels are each divided into four clean room spaces for manufacturing. The utilities building is connected to the FCC building via a pipe bridge spanning a 5m roadway that carries condenser water, HHW, compressed air and steam pipework. This very large component was designed and prefabricated by A.G. Coombs before being installed onsite within just one day – alleviating the risks associated with constructing this complex component onsite. In order to meet the rigorous standards required of a biotech manufacturing facility, prefabrication techniques were also employed in the design and construction of large pipe rack modules and risers.
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Building Efficiency
As well as ensuring a high quality finish, this method allowed parallel construction to continue while reducing site hours and the risks associated with working at heights. “The project has certainly benefitted from A.G. Coombs’ prefabrication capabilities, which has expedited installation onsite and mitigated risk,” says David Phillips, Senior Project Manager at BESIX Watpac. Through the contract, A.G. Coombs has also been responsible for the procurement of energy efficient mechanical services equipment, including high efficiency chillers operating with low GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants and EC (electronically commutated) fan motors. This also extends to the procurement and pre-wiring of electrical boards and field control units (including temperature sensors and actuators), notwithstanding that the building management and control system (BMCS) is outside of A.G. Coombs’ scope of works.
biotech
Project Seqirus
In line with CSL’s broader sustainability strategy, the facility has been designed with best-in-class sustainable design features. These include heat recovery systems, electrification of plant to reduce reliance on natural gas, and a solar photovoltaic (PV) array for onsite renewable energy generation. The project is also seeking an ambitious Green Star certification rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) – a first for a manufacturing facility of this type. A detailed commissioning process is expected to commence in late 2023, with A.G. Coombs applying lessons from its work at CSL Broadmeadows to enhance the documentation of systems in readiness for client handover.
2023-2024
A.G. Coombs will return to the CSL Broadmeadows site in late 2023 to install the mechanical services systems serving a secondary vaccine manufacturing facility under construction. This facility will complement the manufacturing process at CSL Banksia.
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