Darwin Water Park

Feasibility study and concept design for the Northern Territory Government.  

Pico Play was commissioned by the Northern Territory Government to put together a comprehensive business case for a new international water park in the heart of the Darwin CBD. This presented great opportunity to deliver a major new attraction for the residents and visitors of the city. Pico Play was to review seven potential locations and develop highest and best use master plan for the proposed Darwin Water Park. We needed a solution that meets the following key objectives:

· Improve the livability of Darwin and the desirability of the CBD as a recreational destination.

· Complement the existing entertainment landscape of the city.

· Reinforce Darwin as a key gateway city for inbound tourists.

· Increase tourism competitive strengths and increase average length of stay and expenditure.

· Stimulate and support the local economy through construction, expenditure and job creation.

· Revitalise the CBD into an events and entertainment destination.

· Prepare a detailed business case that would attract private investment.

· A detailed market research study found 68% of local residents wanted a world class water  park and would visit more than 3 times per year.70% of visitors would also visit the waterpark.

· The water theme park will involve approximately $38.5 M in investment during the construction phase and will support 86 direct and 138 indirect job years during the construction period. 

· Conservatively, Darwin would experience at least 5% growth in tourist nights (i.e. an additional 39,000 tourist nights), representing an increase of $160m over20 years and 80 job-years for the Darwin economy.

· The business case showed that a total investment of $38M AUD would deliver between260-320k visitors pa and annual revenue in excess of $10.4M AUD pa. 

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The plan 

· A comprehensive design and master plan was produced outlining the best use of the site, the type of attractions and ancillary revenue streams to support the overall investment and financial business case.

· The plan included a world class water park solution and creative branding/marketing options to enhance the broad appeal of both the location and the concept. 

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Northern Territory Government accepted the report and the recommendation to proceed to EOI phase where proponents and consortiums were invited to respond with offers to invest, develop and operate the water park. 

The project delivery included the recommendation to expedite the development process byrunning stages concurrently including:

• Planning permits

• Site preparation 

• Construction start 

The forecast overall development timeline was 3 years. 

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