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AAP
AAP
Health
Laine Clark

First guests set for Qld quarantine centre

Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles says the first guests are set to arrive at Wellcamp. (AAP)

The first guests are set to arrive at the Queensland government's regional quarantine facility.

The Wellcamp site, west of Brisbane, is only expected to welcome about 10 unvaccinated international arrivals on Saturday.

But Deputy Premier Steven Miles expects that number to increase over time.

"A lot of work has gone in to getting Queensland a dedicated regional accommodation facility," he said.

"We are expecting the first guests to arrive tomorrow on an Air New Zealand flight.

"We will gradually expand the number of cabins in use there."

The facility's 500-bed opening stage was completed last month after wet weather delayed its construction.

The rest of the 1000-bed centre is expected to be unveiled by April.

It is set to cater for not only unvaccinated travellers who need to quarantine but also people who can't isolate at home.

"You will recall the debates about why it was important to be able to phase out of hotel quarantine and have a dedicated facility and I am certainly pleased to have it there," Mr Miles said.

Queensland Quarantine Taskforce Commissioner Joanne Greenfield said less than a dozen people would be welcomed in on Saturday to ensure "controlled entry".

She expected the first arrivals to be a "mixture of tourists, workers and students", saying flight schedules would dictate who they took in next.

"We work on the (flight) manifest over today and tomorrow and then we confirm who comes down," she told ABC.

The federal government rejected the Wellcamp site, saying it failed to meet "key requirements" and instead pursued plans for its own 1000-bed quarantine facility at Pinkenba, near Brisbane Airport.

The state government pushed on with the facility near Toowoomba, signing a one year lease with Wagner Corporation with an option to extend it.

Mr Miles has said that the deal "represents good value" but has not revealed details, saying the lease arrangement is "commercial-in-confidence", earning criticism from the Liberal National Party.

The facility is expected to have "non-quarantine" uses in the future, providing accommodation for construction and agricultural workers.

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