TEXT-Australia's Lend Lease unit gets U.S. contract

(Following is a release by Australian construction firm Lend Lease Corp. (LLC.AX))

SYDNEY, May 3 - Lend Lease Corporation Limited ("Lend Lease") today announced that Actus Lend Lease has been selected by the US Department of the Navy ("DoN") as preferred bidder for Phase Three of the development of family housing at three key Marine Corps installations in North Carolina and Massachusetts.

Phase Three of the Atlantic Marine Corps Communities ("AMCC") project consists of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, and Westover Joint Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts. The project includes the development, construction, renovation and management of 2,023 homes over 50 years. It has an initial development spend of US$317 million (approximately A$380 million) over the first five years.

Actus Lend Lease is currently managing Phases One and Two of the AMCC project at Cherry Point, Camp Lejeune and in the Orange County, New York enclave of Stewart Terrace.

Actus Lend Lease aims for Phase Three of the project to be one of the first LEED-H ("Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes") compliant communities in the United States. The project will also feature community based amenities such as community centres to foster interaction among families.

"The award of the third phase of this project again highlights Actus Lend Lease's market leading position in the delivery of sustainable communities in partnership with the US military," said Ross Taylor, Global CEO - Lend Lease Retail & Communities.

Since October of 2005, Actus Lend Lease and the DoN have closed on two phases of the privatisation efforts of AMCC.

The project is part of the US Military Housing Privatization Initiative to improve the quality of family housing for US service members and their families. Actus Lend Lease is estimated to have a 25 per cent share of the military housing market.