mmg.com.au

Preparation work on the site of Echuca’s new SES headquarters is expected to start within days.

However, actual building work is not expected to be seen at the site until about March 18, when some pre-fabricated work will be moved to the site.

The building, to be located in the High St emergency precinct alongside the Echuca-Moama Search and Rescue and the ambulance station, has had to overcome several hurdles to get to the building stage, with the most recent a blow-out in the budgeted costs quoted by the cheapest tenderer.

Cobram’s G and D Godson Builders were asked to shave costs off their quote to get the project down to within the budget of $432,032.

This involved changes such as swapping from polished concrete floors to sealed concrete floors, Echuca SES administration deputy controller Bob Callander said.

‘‘Hopefully we’ll get a bit of action down there (at the site)... early this week,’’ Mr Callander said.

‘‘Things are on the move.’’

The building is expected to be finished by the end of April, with further car park work expected to be completed by the end of May.

‘‘It’s all dependant on budgets and money and what’s going on,’’ he said.

If all things go well, Mr Callander hopes the Echuca unit could be in the new building by the end of June.

‘‘We’d probably look at a month to relocate,’’ he said.

Mr Callander said he was looking forward to the unit having its new and bigger headquarters which will include an area to house the unit’s vehicles, trailers, rescue boat and other equipment, as well as a communications room, training area, turn out room, storeroom, kitchen area and shower and toilet facilities.

The 25m by 20m building is about a third to a half bigger than what the unit currently has.

‘‘We’ve been battling on this for three or four years now,’’ he said.

‘‘It has been a fairly long, drawn out process.

‘‘But we’re very happy.’’