The NSW government has invested $8.8 million while Taronga Western Plains Zoo shared $3.3 million to begin the construction of the multi-purpose Platypus Conservation Centre.

It will be constructed next door to the wildlife hospital at the zoo.

Platypus are known to survive only in Australian conditions, though there were attempts to breed them in the United States, and during the recent drought concerns were raised about their survival thus the conservation centre was initiated, Dubbo MP and NSW minister for agriculture Dugald Saunders said.

"Here at the conservation centre with the wildlife hospital demonstrates what it is that this zoo does behind the scenes to save animals and save species," he said.

"[This new centre] also provides us opportunities to understand what threatening processes put these animals at risk and the little things that we can do in our lives such as changing our habits with reusable items rather than single-use plastics as an example and hopefully enable them to go out and make a difference after a zoo visit."

The centre will include a refuge facility, a research centre to observe and understand platypus breeding, rehabilitation and release facilities, and a public viewing area for thousands of zoo visitors that trek to Dubbo all year round.

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The centre's overall design includes a creek to observe how the platypus lives in a wild-like setting and help them build their fitness to weather conditions as rehabilitated animals before they are released back into the wild.

In a statement, environment minister James Griffin said the new centre would be an extension of Taronga Zoo's conservation work across NSW to save and help the survival of Australian animal species threatened by extinction such as the platypus.

The culmination of the centre as a project for the zoo also comes following successes in the breeding programs for the regent honeyeater, bilby, plains-wanderer and chuditch thriving and multiplying at the site, zoo director Steve Hinks said.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for Taronga Zoo as a powerhouse for conservation..we've seen great success with the bilby and regent honeyeater before they were released into the wild," he said.

"The conservation centre will provide capacity for emergency management of platypus in extreme environmental conditions such as drought."

Local contractor David Payne Construction has begun building the groundbreaking project which is expected to be completed and opened by mid-2023, Mr Hinks said.

Deputy premier and minister for regional NSW Paul Toole said he welcomed the construction of the new conservation centre at the zoo which is supporting the region's local economy and providing local jobs during construction and into its operational phase.