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Kane Constructions has secured the contract to build the Visitor Experience Centre at Victoria’s Twelve Apostles as the $126-million redevelopment project funded through the Geelong City Deal moves ahead.
The Victorian construction firm also recently formed a joint venture with Nicholson Construction for Ballarat’s city entertainment precinct transformation.
The Twelve Apostles development will feature a Welcome Garden celebrating Eastern Maar community heritage, expanded parking facilities and improved road infrastructure designed to enhance bus and vehicle access to the tourist hub.
A centrepiece of the project will be the garden rooftop lookout, which will provide views across the Southern Ocean.
The design emphasises integration with the natural landscape while incorporating essential visitor amenities and improved pedestrian access throughout the precinct.
The project’s significance extends beyond tourism infrastructure, as the Great Ocean Road itself stands as the world’s longest war memorial, built by returned servicemen after World War I.
The historic route, stretching 243km, faces mounting environmental challenges, with cliffside erosion occurring at 2cm a year.
Visitor numbers have surpassed the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru combined, reaching 8.6 million a year by 2017.
The development forms part of broader conservation efforts overseen by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, set up in 2019 to manage these increasing pressures.
Construction of the project, jointly backed by the Federal and Victorian governments, is due to early this year.
The comprehensive redevelopment addresses increasing visitor numbers to the Great Ocean Road and Shipwreck Coast regions, with infrastructure upgrades aimed at encouraging extended stays and increased local spending.
The construction phase will create 90 full-time positions, with an additional 70 jobs in planning, project management and design.
Once operational, the centre will provide 50 ongoing employment opportunities, contributing to long-term regional economic growth.
The announcement comes as a 48.5ha site approved for a 58-key eco-lodge near the Twelve Apostles enters the market.
The Princetown development, 6km from the tourist attraction, includes approval for a 300-seat eco-activity centre and three food outlets.
The $9-million resort development is aimed at helping address the region’s accommodation shortage, which is estimated at about 1000 beds.
Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation chief executive officer Marcus Clarke said the appointment of a construction contractor for the Twelve Apostles project “brings us a step closer to seeing all the design work come to reality—one that harmonises with the natural landscape while strongly portraying Kirrae Whurrong Culture and our shared history”.
Corangamite Shire Council chief executive officer David Rae said the development said it was a, “a core element of the Shipwreck Coast Masterplan, [that] will bring world class visitor infrastructure to our beautiful part of the coast”.
