MAJOR ITALIAN CONTRACTOR
EYES AUSTRALIAN PROJECTS SALINI IMPREGILO’S MARCO ASSORATI SAT DOWN WITH ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE TO DISCUSS HIS VIEWS ON RISK SHARING, MODERN SPECIFICATIONS AND THE NEED FOR ADAPTABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AS THE INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTION GIANT INCREASES ITS INVOLVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR PROJECTS.
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ome of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects share a common international contractor. The $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest, $1.86 billion Forrestfield-Airport Link and $5.1 billion Snowy 2.0, for example, are changing the transport and energy infrastructure landscape in New South Wales and Western Australia. While relatively new to Australia, Salini Impregilo is at the heart of these projects. In Snowy 2.0, the company is championing Australia’s transition to renewable energy after winning the contract as a member of the Future Generation joint venture. Crews will build the biggest hydroelectric power station in Australia . Sydney Metro Northwest now forms a rapid transit link to the northwest suburbs of Sydney, a project critical to helping improve liveability by providing additional transport links. Likewise, the Forrestfield-Airport Link will help connectivity from Perth’s eastern suburbs to the CBD. Salini Impregilo’s latest work in Australia started with parts of the Sydney Metro Northwest in 2014, which is now complete. The company was tasked with building the skytrain bridge and 4.6-kilometre viaduct for the project. In 1906, two companies, Girora and Lodigani, were created in Italy. The group today is the product of a series of mergers throughout the last century, with at least four companies coming together before Salini Impregilo was founded in 2014.
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ROADS FEBRUARY 2020
Salini Impregilo Executive Director for Australia and Oceania Marco Assorati spoke at the 2019 World Engineering Convention.
Salini Impregilo has been involved in some of the world’s largest infrastructure projects, namely a section of the Brenner Base Tunnel from Austria to Italy, which on completion will be the longest underground rail connection in the world. It is also building a section of the Grand Paris Express which includes the construction of two metro lines: Line 16 north of Paris and Line 14 to the south connecting to Orly Airport. Since the Sydney Metro Northwest, Salini Impregilo has slowly been increasing its construction footprint in Australia, gaining contracts for the Forrestfield Airport Link and Snowy 2.0. Marco Assorati, Salini Impregilo’s Executive Director for Australia and Oceania, presented at the 2019 World Engineering Convention in Melbourne. He expressed his view for Australia to adopt adaptable infrastructure projects.
In the opening session of the convention, Mr. Assorati stated that as an industry, construction contractors have to ensure projects they plan, design, deliver, operate and maintain are changeable for the future. Adaptability, he noted, involves making the best use of space and resourses already available. “It’s all about incorporating innovation that we have been exposed to by other markets. We are looking at how we can introduce these innovations in Australia in the framework of Australian projects,” he said. In speaking to Roads and Infrastructure at the convention, Mr. Assorati expressed his desire to better connect with the Australian construction market to introduce innovative practices. Creating quality relationships and partnerships with Australian companies is one project aspect Mr. Assorati regards highly, as he looks to grow Salini Impregilo’s presence in Australia. “It is critical for us to understand the local rules of the game and also to spread our footprint in a more local fashion,” he said. “For sure there is a very impressive infrastructure pipeline for the next 10-15 years, so it is a marketplace where we want to be.” For the Forrestfield Airport Link in Western Australia, Salini Impregilo is working with NRW Holdings, a Perth-based construction services company. The project involves the construction of 18-kilometre twin tunnels and three
