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IPA National Infrastructure Awards
Independent Judging Panel:
The 2011 Finalists and winners of the National Infrastructure Awards were selected by an independent judging panel of senior public and private sector leaders. IPA thanks the panel for their dedication to the awards. The panel comprised: - Tony Shepherd, Chairman, Transfield Services - Mark Birrell, Chairman,
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia - Adrian Kloeden, Chairman,
Serco Asia Pacific - Peter Duncan, then Director general of the Department of Services, Technology and
Administration - John Fitzgerald, Deputy Secretary,
Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance
Project of the year
wINNer: The prestigious Project of the Year for 2011 was awarded to Queensland’s Gateway Upgrade Project. rIgHT: Gateway Upgrade Project Team.
Project of the Year – Sponsored by Arup
Winner: Gateway Upgrade Project Leighton – Abigroup joint venture
Companies involved:
Abigroup; AECOM; Aurecon; Cardno; Coffey International; Conneq; Evans & Peck; Leighton Contractors; Queensland Motorways; Sinclair Knight Merz; SMEC and VSL Australia.
The massive $2.12 billion Gateway Upgrade Project is a Queensland Government initiative delivered by Queensland Motorways, with design and construction by the Leighton – Abigroup Joint Venture. Delivered progressively, the upgrade has provided motorists with a safer, smarter and more durable motorway.
Totalling 24 kilometres and delivered during a construction boom, this complex project involved the duplication of Brisbane’s iconic Gateway Bridge, as well as the upgrade of some 16 kilometres of the Gateway Motorway south of the Bridges. The project also saw the refurbishment of the existing Bridge; and a new seven-kilometre motorway running north from the Bridges.
Despite the challenges, value for money outcomes were delivered through innovative design, efficient construction methodologies and exemplary performances in safety, environment and community engagement. The project was completed seven months early and delivers a major enhancement to Brisbane’s road estate.
IPA congratulates the Queensland Government, Abigroup, Leighton Contractors, Queensland Motorways Limited, AECOM, Aurecon, Cardno, Coffey International, Conneq, Evans & Peck, Sinclair Knight Merz, SMEC and VSL Australia on this outstanding project.
Previous recipients of Project of the Year include:
2010: Melbourne Channel Deepening (VIC) 2009: Headquarters Joint Operations Command Centre (CTH) 2008: Eastlink Motorway (VIC) 2007: NSW Schools PPP (NSW) Continued on page 44
ABOVe: Newcastle Coal Terminal. rIgHT: South Australia’s Northern Expressway. Continued from page 42
Project of the Year finalists
Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group Project Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group
Companies involved:
Allens Arthur Robinson; Aon; Aurecon HATCH; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group; Blake Dawson; Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW; Environmental Resources Management; Ernst & Young; Federal Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities; Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator; Infrastructure Capital Group; Inteplan; Minter Ellison; Newcastle Port Corporation; NSW Department of Lands; NSW Maritime; Wood Mackenzie; WorleyParsons.
The Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) was formed to address major coal export infrastructure capacity issues from the world’s largest coal export port. The project involves the progressive construction and operation of a new 66mtpa coal export terminal of Kooragang Island at the Port of Newcastle.
Construction of stage one of the new facility has a capacity of 30mtpa and was completed in June 2010. In August 2010, NCIG achieved Financial Close for the Stage 2 expansion of the port to increase capacity to 53mtpa. Both stages of the project will cost an estimated $2 billion.
The project and related upgrades will increase exports by more than $6 billion per year. It will also increase the flow of coal royalties to the New South Wales Treasury. The development is expected to underpin 5000 jobs in the region.
South Australia’s Northern Expressway Project Fulton Hogan; South Australia Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; York Civil.
Companies involved:
AECOM and Dare Sutton Clarke
The $564 million Northern Expressway is a joint project between the Commonwealth and South Australian governments. The project delivers significant national benefits because it increases the efficiency, safety and reliability of the national transport network.
The project is the largest road construction project in South Australia since the 1960s, and consists of a 23-kilometre high-speed roadway, separate pedestrian and cycle pathways, and the upgrade of Port Wakefield Road.
Since opening to traffic in September 2010, the Northern Expressway has improved traffic conditions for residents in Angle Vale and the northern suburbs near Main North Road, delivered better access to Adelaide for freight transport travelling via the Sturt Highway, and enhanced road safety for the near 15,000 vehicles traversing the route daily.
ABOVe: Sydney Airport’s Runway 25.
Sydney Airport’s Runway 25 – Runway End Safety Area Project Sydney Airport Corporation Limited
Companies involved:
Aurecon; Baulderstone; Cardno; Civil Aviation Safety Authority; EnergyAustralia; NSW Roads and Traffic Authority and Sydney Water.
To comply with new global safety requirements, Sydney Airport was required to undertake a significant upgrade of the east-west and two northsouth runways, to allow additional space and safety requirements to accommodate the new A380 aircraft.
The 07/25 runway end safety area consists of an 8100 square metre concrete land bridge, making it Australia’s first suspended RESA deck. The challenging project had to be undertaken on a complex site, building over Sydney’s main southwest wastewater outfall pipeline and the M5 East tunnel, and involved the realignment of the airside perimeter road and Energy Australia’s 132kV gasimpregnated high voltage cables, which are unique in the southern hemisphere. Numerous benchmark structures were required needing the development and use of self–compacting concrete – Australia’s first use.
The $99.7 million investment in this project has provided a fully compliant runway in terms of safety for aircraft, including the new A380.
Continued on page 46
IPA National Infrastructure Awards
rIgHT: Rick Turchini and IPA Chairman, The Hon. Mark Birrell.
Chairman’s Prize – rick Turchini
From time to time, IPA’s Chairman confers an individual award, recognising an outstanding individual who has made a sustained personal contribution and provided industry leadership to the national infrastructure sector.
In 2011, IPA’s Chairman Mark Birrell presented the Chairman’s Prize to retired Baulderstone Managing Director Rick Turchini, for his career-long contribution to infrastructure.
As part of Australia’s infrastructure sector for over four decades, Rick Turchini has been part of delivering some of Australia’s most important projects. Rick began his career in the electricity sector as a civil engineer, before joining Leighton Contractors in 1981 as a project manager. Over time, Rick became the General Manager of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory divisions of Leighton, and led projects including the M5 South West Motorway – Australia’s first modern PPP; the Eastern Distributor; Westlink M7; Sydney Harbour Casino and Angel Place. After a short retirement, Rick returned to a full-time executive role as the Managing Director of Baulderstone in 2005 – an organisation he successfully led for five years – delivering highprofile projects including the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne; the Tullamarine – Calder Freeway Interchange Alliance; Optus headquarters in Sydney; and the Phu My Bridge in Vietnam. Throughout his career, Rick has made a significant investment in industry associations, including his service on the Board of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, as well as senior roles with the Australian Constructors Association and Civil Contractors Federation – amongst others.
At the end of last year, Rick retired as the Managing Director of Baulderstone. IPA would like to acknowledge Rick Turchini for his outstanding service to our association and sector. government Partnership excellence Award – Sponsored by the university of wollongong’s SMArT Infrastructure Facility
Winner: M2 Motorway Upgrade NSW Roads and Traffic Authority – Client; Transurban – Manager and Operator
The Hills M2 Motorway is a 21-kilometre four-lane motorway, owned and operated by Hills Motorway, a Transurban subsidiary. The motorway links Sydney’s lower north shore and north-west regions.
Around 100,000 vehicles travel on this motorway each workday, along with more than 17,000 bus passengers. The M2 Motorway Upgrade Project will widen the motorway, increasing its capacity to accommodate projected population growth and increased transport needs.
The project used an innovative approach to fund the $550 million capacity enhancement, with the Hills Motorway to finance the project on behalf of the state through an extension of the concession term and a one-off tolling increase.
This project is expected to deliver more than $1.7 billion in economic benefit to the state, but has removed the requirement for taxpayers to fund the extension. The Hills M2 Motorway Upgrade Project is being delivered by Hills Motorway in partnership with the New South Wales Government and the RTA, with completion anticipated in 2013.
The Government Partnership Excellence Award recognises a genuine partnership in the development and delivery of public policy objectives. Judges looked at the scale, size and complexity of projects and how risk was allocated, as well as achievement of time, cost and quality objectives.
Other finalists:
• Borallon Correctional Centre
Queensland Corrective Services – Client; Serco
Asia Pacific – Manager and Operator • Gold Coast Rapid Transit
Corrs Chambers Westgarth – Legal Adviser to the State; PwC – Commercial and Financial
Adviser to the State; Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport; Queensland
Department of Transport and Main Roads; and
Gold Coast City Council.
Contractor excellence Award – Sponsored by the royal Bank of Scotland
Winner: Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor John Holland
Winner: The New Royal Adelaide Hospital Ernst & Young – Commercial and Financial Adviser to the State
ABOVe: Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor.
The Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor – Stage 1 is the first integrated road and rail project for South East Queensland. It is a major transport initiative to service the future needs of Brisbane’s growing western corridor.
Stage 1 of the project involves the construction of a new passenger railway line from Darra to Richlands; construction of a railway station, bus interchange and park and ride facilities at Richlands and a duplication of the Centenary Highway from two to four lanes from Richlands to meet with the existing Logan Motorway interchange at Carole Park.
Stage 1 reached practical completion in November 2010, four months ahead of schedule at an estimated cost of approximately $800 million.
The Contractor Excellence Award recognises innovation and best practice in the construction and delivery of infrastructure projects.
Other finalists:
• The Gateway Upgrade Project
Leighton – Abigroup Joint Venture • South Australia’s Northern Expressway Project
Fulton Hogan and York Civil
Companies involved:
Clayton Utz; Macquarie Capital Advisers Limited and South Australian Crown Solicitor’s Office
The NRAH project involves the construction, maintenance and provision of hotel services at a new hospital to replace the ageing Royal Adelaide Hospital. It is being delivered as a PPP with a capital value in the order of $1.7 billion, making it the largest project of its kind in Australia’s history.
NRAH will be South Australia’s flagship public hospital, and will include single rooms for all inpatients. It will offer more operating theatres and procedure rooms, a 30 per cent increase in intensive care beds, and a significant increase in emergency care capacity.
The project will deliver high-quality healthcare and provides a model for other major clinical hospital projects in South Australia and around the country. The Advisory Excellence Award recognises excellent advice that allows a project to progress and break new ground.
Consideration was also given to the scale, complexity and difficulty of the project.
Other finalists:
• The Ararat Prison Project
KPMG – Commercial and Financial Adviser to the State; • Gold Coast Rapid Transit
PwC – Commercial and Financial Adviser to the State; Corrs Chambers Westgarth –
Legal Adviser to the State.
IPA National Infrastructure Awards
rIgHT: The new Royal Adelaide Hospital. BeLOw: Port of Brisbane.
Financial excellence Award – Sponsored by Conneq
Winner: Port of Brisbane Privatisation Macquarie Capital Advisers Limited – Financial Adviser; Queensland Treasury
Companies involved:
Deloitte; PwC
Q Port Holdings (QPH), a consortium comprising four of the largest and most experienced infrastructure investors in the world, was the successful bidder for the 99-year lease of the Port of Brisbane.
The QPH consortium, advised by Macquarie Capital Advisers, comprises Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Industry Funds Management (IFM), and QIC Global Infrastructure (QIC) on behalf of its managed funds and Tawreed Investments Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
The sale, completed in the face of significant opposition, delivered a return to the state of $2.1 billion. The structure of the transaction also saw the investment of around $200 million to upgrade the Port of Brisbane Motorway transferred to the private sector, freeing up additional public capital for other projects.
All nominees in the category should be recognised for overcoming significant complexities, not least of which is their procurement during extraordinarily difficult economic times.
Other finalists:
• Ararat Prison Project; Peninsula Link PPP
Commonwealth Bank of Australia – Financial
Adviser; Bilfinger Berger Project Investments –
Technical Adviser • M2 Motorway Upgrade
Transurban • Peninsula Link PPP
Linking Melbourne Authority – Client; PwC – Lead
Strategic and Financial Adviser to the State; Royal
Bank of Scotland – Sponsor. Continued on page 50
IPA National Infrastructure Awards
rIgHT: Sydney’s Desalination Plant.
Continued from page 48
Operator and Service excellence Award – Sponsored by PwC
Winner: Sydney Desalination Plant Veolia Water Australia Other finalists:
• The Borallon Correctional Centre
Serco Asia Pacific • The Lane Cove Tunnel
Transfield Services
Veolia Water operates Sydney’s Desalination Plant on behalf of Sydney Water, providing high-quality drinking water for Sydney.
The plant can provide up to an average of 250 million litres per day – drinking water for up to 1.5 million people, or enough water to fill more than 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools daily.
Veolia Water operates the Kurnell plant with a team of 34 people, turning seawater into potable drinking water via 36,000 reverse osmosis membranes. Flexible operations ensure that the plant can increase or decrease water production, standby, shutdown or restart quickly – providing Sydney with a guaranteed, non-rainfall dependent drinking water source integrated into the broader water supply system. Veolia has engaged with the community and exceeded service level and quality requirements consistently, since the plant was commissioned.
The Operator and Service Provider Excellence Award recognises world-class operation of infrastructure. The judges considered efficiency in delivery and operation, management of team and stakeholder relationships, and general satisfaction of stakeholder groups.
Winner: The Remote Area Essential Services Program (RAESP) – Providing essential indigenous services Parsons Brinckerhoff – RAES Program manager; CleanTeq – Technology provider
Companies involved:
WA Department of Housing and WA Department of Health
The Remote Area Essential Services Program (RAESP) provides essential services like sewerage, power and water to 89 remote Aboriginal communities. The program has been managed by Parsons Brinckerhoff since 2005.
The location of these communities means that access to town water and other services is not available. Naturally elevated levels of nitrate in the groundwater supply had meant that water quality did not meet the Australian Drinking Guidelines. Parsons Brinckerhoff has worked with the WA Department of Housing, the
IPA National Infrastructure Awards
Department of Health, technology providers and the community to develop a solution to remove the nitrate from the potable supply.
Commonly used technologies such as reverse osmosis and ion exchange were ruled out, meaning a unique solution was required.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is undertaking a trial of denitrification technology, which uses bacteria to effect nitrate removal and is simple, requiring only a single pump to push water through a media chamber, resulting in low power usage. The process also conserves water and does not generate a waste stream. The simple technology requirements translate into less user inputs and less frequent maintenance scheduling. This project is the first time a biological denitrification treatment process will be used in Australia to treat a potable supply. The technology will be trialled in one of the communities in March 2011.
The Smart Infrastructure project award recognises excellence in conception and commission of smart technologies to deliver better infrastructure services – and takes into account Infrastructure Australia’s key themes.
Other finalists:
• Sydney Water’s dual purpose pipeline –
Wastewater and recycling innovation
Sydney Water and Leighton Contractors • The Woodlawn Bioreactor – Turning waste to
energy
Veolia Environmental Services
IPA is pleased to partner with the Department of Infrastructure and Transport in the awarding of a $25,000 grant for research to be undertaken in the area of smart infrastructure.
Nominees were assessed on their research scope and potential application of their research to create greater efficiencies in new and/or existing infrastructure.
Winner: Green Infrastructure – Connecting people with landscapes through urban retrofitting. Centre for Sustainable Design, University of Queensland.
The intent of this research project is twofold – on one hand, to develop a practical approach to the integration of green infrastructure in the densification of existing inner urban areas, with particular emphasis on the consequent changes of land use and development planning; and on the other hand, to recognise how social innovation is a potentially powerful concept, capable of anchoring urban change more firmly into the community fabric.
This project aims to challenge people to think differently about the big issues affecting communities, and to test practical ways to integrate innovative approaches into responses to unmet social needs. The project will examine ways to foster socially innovative strategies for enabling long-term healthy communities early in the urban retrofit process.
BeLOw: Communities developed as part of the Remote Area Essential Services Program.
