CONTRACTS & TENDERS
CONTRACTS IN BRIEF ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE CONTRACTS AND TENDERS RECENTLY AWARDED OR PUT TO MARKET ACROSS THE AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR. NEW SOUTH WALES Tenders called for Newcastle Inner City Bypass Transport for NSW has called for tenders from pre-qualified contractors for construction on the $450 million Rankin Park to Jesmond – Newcastle Inner City Bypass. The project involves building a 3.4 kilometre four-lane divided road between Rankin Park and Jesmond, including a northern interchange at Newcastle Road, an interchange providing access to the John Hunter Hospital Precinct, and a southern interchange at McCaffrey Drive. Shortlisted contractors, including John Holland, Fulton Hogan and NEWlink – a joint venture from BMD Constructions and Ditchfield Contracting – have until Friday 17 December to submit their tenders. The tender for Rankin Park to Jesmond is expected to be awarded early next year, with construction starting in the second half of the year. The bypass is expected to open to traffic in 2025. Tenders open for major Newell Highway upgrade Tenders are being invited to engage a head contractor to manage the largest project underway as part of the $500 million Newell Highway Upgrade program in New South Wales. Stage 1 works will include 27.3 kilometres of new road pavement, intersection improvements, widening of road shoulders and the provision of five additional overtaking lanes. A tender package has been released to market and be open for approximately eight weeks to engage the head contractor on the main contract, which will involve building new sections of road, as well as five new overtaking lanes, intersection upgrades and multiple new bridge-sized culverts. Work is planned to commence in early 2022 following the announcement of the successful head contractor for the main construction contract. 62
ROADS NOVEMBER 2021
Contract awarded for NSW’s Nelson Bay Road upgrade The $275 million Nelson Bay Road upgrade in New South Wales has reached a new milestone, with contract awarded to Daracon Contractors for a one-kilometre section from Salt Ash to Bobs Farm. The proposal would be constructed within the existing road boundary and would involve construction of about one kilometre of dual carriageway, 900 metres east of Marsh Road at Salt Ash to 1.9 kilometres east of Marsh Road at Bobs Farm. Transport for NSW is currently preparing a preferred option report for the project, which is planned to be published later this year. The construction of Section 1 would be expected to commence in 2022, subject to funding, and would take around 18 months to complete. VICTORIA Contracts awarded for Melbourne’s South Road and Narre Warren North Road The Victorian Government has announced two contract awards, valued at over $100 million combined, for road upgrade projects in Melbourne’s south east. Symal Group has been appointed to build the Narre Warren North Upgrade, while Negri Contractors has been selected to deliver the South Road Upgrade. Part of a $3 billion package of suburban and regional road upgrades in Victoria, the projects are expected to create a total of about 600 jobs throughout construction, while improving capacity and creating a better travel experience in Melbourne’s south-east. As part of the South Road Upgrade, five intersections will be improved between the Nepean Highway and Warrigal Road. The Narre Warren North Road upgrade will include increasing the number of lanes from two to four between Fox and BelgraveHallam roads, along with upgrades to the Heatherton Road, Ernst Wanke Road and Memorial Drive intersections.
Fleetwood to help deliver Melbourne’s quarantine facility Modular manufacturing business Fleetwood has secured a contract with Multiplex to help deliver Melbourne’s 1000-bed Centre for National Resilience at Mickleham. In July this year, Multiplex entered into a Managing Contractor Contract (MCC) with the Australian Government Department of Finance to deliver a new purpose-built centre to support Australia’s response to the current pandemic and any future pandemics. Multiplex has been engaged to construct the facility, with 80 per cent of the buildings to be prefabricated off-site. The centre can be extended to 3000 beds but will be operational as soon as the first 500 beds are ready later this year. The contract is expected to result in revenue of approximately $32 million for Fleetwood in the 2022 financial year. Construction has already started on the facility, with the camp scheduled to open by the end of 2021. Decmil wins Barwon Heads Road duplication contract Decmil Group has been awarded an $88.7 million contract by Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) for the first package of works for Barwon Heads Road upgrade – a crucial arterial link between Geelong, the Bellarine and the growing Armstrong Creek residential precinct. The project will be delivered concurrently through a trio of construction partners, including Decmil, BMD Constructions and BildGroup, in partnership with Major Road Projects Victoria. The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade will add new lanes for approximately four kilometres between Settlement Road and Reserve Road, remove a dangerous level crossing at Marshall, and upgrade intersections at Settlement Road and Breakwater Road. New traffic signals will also be constructed. Work will begin immediately and is expected to be finished in 2023.
