Jointly funded by Hort Innovation and the Government of South Australia, construction of a purpose-built, $3.7 million sterile Queensland Fruit Fly (Qfly) facility in Port Augusta, South Australia, will culminate with the release of sterile flies in 2018.

Designed to allow production of at least 50 million flies per week, the Port  Augusta facility has been engineered with strict environmental control and low energy use targets. Computer controlled environment systems, coolroom type wall insulation (bondor walls) and a lack of windows all contribute to the ability to manage temperature to within 0.5 degrees – which is

important for consistency in fruit fly batches. The use of bondor walls allows  low-cost expansion of the factory if demand exceeds current plans, and solar power means operating costs will be minimised.