The state government is calling for tenders to upgrade visitor amenities at Penguin Island ahead of the run-down discovery centre’s looming demolition.
The state government is calling for tenders to upgrade visitor amenities at Penguin Island ahead of the run-down discovery centre’s looming demolition.
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions has put out a request for tenders to build visitor amenities and upgrade infrastructure at the island off the coast of Shoalwater.
It comes three months after the Penguin Island Discovery Centre was permanently closed ahead of its planned demolition in a bid to protect the island’s wild penguin population.
The tourism centre previously housed a colony of seven captive penguins who had been transferred to the mainland and were integrated with existing populations at Perth Zoo and Caversham Wildlife Park over the long weekend.
But the eldest penguin of the captive population, who was more than 20 years old and blind, “sadly had to be euthanised”, according to DBCA.
The Perth tourist attraction was permanently closed in June after several engineering assessments deemed the building was no longer structurally sound, according to DBCA.
That decision came after a new multi-million dollar discovery centre was proposed by the state government to replace the aging facility in 2021.
But the plans were hit with significant opposition from the City of Rockingham, tourism operators and the local community over concerns about the construction’s impact on the wild penguin’s declining population.
The following year the state government scrapped its plans to rebuild the centre and instead made the call to demolish the existing facility and rehabilitate the area to create additional habitat.
But despite the Penguin Island Discovery Centre’s looming demolition, the state government insists the island itself isn’t closing with other tourism offerings still available.
The tender advertised yesterday is calling out for builders to construct visitor amenities and infrastructure upgrades on the island.
According to the tender documents, the project will be delivered between mid-January 2024 and the end of March 2024 due to environmental restrictions.
Business News understands the scope of work could include upgrades to visitor facilities such as toilets, picnic tables, boardwalks and shade structures.
The state government has also allocated $250,000 to undertake a feasibility study to assess the potential of building a new centre on the mainland.
DBCA announced on Monday that the remaining captive population of little penguins had been moved to their new homes over the weekend.
The penguins spent the past few months at a short-term winter care facility at Cape Peron before being moved to Perth Zoo and the wildlife park.
