NT defence funding to flow by end of year

Funding allocated in the defence white paper for projects in the Northern Territory will begin to flow by year's end, although it is not yet clear how much work will go to local businesses.

Assistant Defence Minister Michael McCormack was in Darwin on Thursday to spruik the white paper, which has allocated $20 billion for NT projects over the next 20 years.

"You will start to see the benefits towards the end of the year," he told reporters.

Over the coming decade, $1.2 billion will be invested in infrastructure upgrades at HMAS Coonawarra and Larrakeyah Barracks, with $70 million to update facilities at Robertson Barracks, said Natasha Griggs, federal Member for Solomon.

She said she wants to see as much of the work done locally as possible, although the government has not yet committed to giving local businesses a leg up to be able to compete with national and international companies.

"The local construction industry through the Master Builders Association have been really proactive in putting together a capability statement of what they're actually capable of doing, and it also identifies and dispels the myth that we don't have any capability locally," she said.

"I've worked with a number of my north Australia colleagues who also have defence bases in their electorates and we all are trying to work together to make sure as many of our local businesses who do have the capability are able to do the work."