Victoria’s proposed COVID-19 quarantine facility is dependent on federal funding and won’t be ready until the end of the year. The state government has confirmed the preferred site for the facility will be next to the Mickleham post-entry pet quarantine centre, a commonwealth site about 40km north of Melbourne. The 500-bed facility would cost about $200 million to build, with an expansion to 3000 beds taking the cost to $700 million. The state government added it would cost about $15 million to get the project ready for construction. A final call on whether construction goes ahead will not be made until September, with Acting Premier James Merlino saying it could be ready by the end of the year. He said it was now up to the Commonwealth as to whether the facility would be built. Merlino said the facility would be federally owned but operated by Victoria. “It’s about providing …