War memorial plans to build $16m warehouse

The Australian War Memorial is set to build a new mega warehouse to store a delivery of soon-to-be-retired planes, helicopters and other big items.

The project, which was referred to a parliamentary committee for consideration on Thursday, is expected to cost more than $16 million.

The single-level facility in Canberra's northern suburbs will be about the size of an American football field.

Large pieces of military equipment including aircraft, vehicles, boats, missiles and guns are already stored on the site.

But there is an "immediate requirement" for more storage space, with the Department of Defence planning to hand over items including a P-3C Orion, C-130 Hercules, FA-18 Classic Hornet, Seahawk and Squirrel naval helicopters, which are due to be retired in the coming decade.

If approved, construction is expected to start next January and be finished by December 2018.