The proposal also involves additional marine infrastructure to support the AC36 activities. This includes areas to accommodate vessels competing in associated challenger and regatta, support boats and superyachts associated with the syndicates and their supporters.

Auckland Council, the government and Emirates Team New Zealand agreed to Auckland as the host of America’s Cup in March.   

Resource consent for the proposed America's Cup infrastructure has been lodged and is currently going through the regulatory process. This includes a direct referral to the Environment Court with a decision expected from the Court in October 2018.

The Downer - McConnell Dowell team will be collaborating with the Project Designers Beca and Tonkin & Taylor and working closely with Auckland Council and MBIE under an Alliance model. The Alliance will be led by Project Director Ian Campbell, who has delivered outstanding outcomes on major civil and marine infrastructure projects in New Zealand, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Most recently he was the Executive General Manager of the SCIRT Alliance which was responsible for rebuilding Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged horizontal infrastructure.

“We will be proud to deliver a legacy project and world-class infrastructure that delivers best value and benefit for ETNZ, Auckland, and our country,” says Ian Campbell

Downer and McConnell Dowell have worked collaboratively to deliver public realm infrastructure for many years, including Christchurch’s SH1 Russley Road Upgrade and Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 2 and the City Rail Link 2 contract in Auckland. Both companies have vast New Zealand alliancing experience and have collectively delivered 19 Alliance projects in New Zealand.

Downer and McConnell Dowell will be represented on the Project Alliance Board by McConnell Dowell Managing Director Fraser Wyllie and Downer’s John Burden, Executive General Manager Infrastructure Projects.

The consortium will be working to a tight timeframe for a project of this scale - whilst the main AC36 races (Challenger and Cup series) will be held over January to March 2021 for Auckland, the race series starts in December 2020. Some of the syndicates want to be set up a year in advance, which means most of the infrastructure to host the team bases needs to be ready in late 2019.

Between them, Downer and McConnell Dowell have delivered a number of significant public infrastructure projects in Downtown Auckland, including Silo Park and the Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct, ASB Waterfront Theatre, Park Hyatt, Viaduct Events Centre, Te Wero Island, Gaunt and Halsey St Upgrades, Westhaven Promenade, the Holcim Depot, and the first two stages of City Rail Link.

About McConnell Dowell

Since 1961, McConnell Dowell’s building and infrastructure construction expertise has grown steadily. Our professional engineering and construction teams in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and the Middle East now deliver building, civil, electrical, fabrication, marine, mechanical, pipeline, rail, tunnel and underground construction projects for clients around the world.

With an extensive track record of wharves, jetties, ocean outfalls, breakwaters, causeways and submarine pipelines, McConnell Dowell brings over 50 years of award-winning marine design and construction experience to the America’s Cup infrastructure project. Previous projects include several ocean outfalls around New Zealand, twin 1,200 mm diameter pipelines across Botany Bay in Sydney, a 250 m continuous piled promenade deck and two circular cofferdams for the semi-submerged crystal pavilions as part of the $6.3B Marina Bay Sands Casino development, and the award winning Webb Dock Project at the Port of Melbourne.

The $1.1 million program lead by the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) and Transport for Victoria is designed to:

• Break down barriers and encourage more women to enter and stay in the transport sector
• Support the professional development of women through their career lifecycle
• Establish a network of female professionals
• Enhance collaboration between private and government organisations

Mick Mongan, Delivery Manager for McConnell Dowell on the Alliance’s first level crossing removal, is proud to be a mentor for the program “I’m very excited to be able to share my experience within in the industry and be able to personally contribute to guiding and developing women’s careers in the sector.”

McConnell Dowell’s Jyothi Satyavolu working as an Engineering Coordinator with the Alliance, is excited to be involved in the program as a mentee:

“I’ve found the program is an excellent opportunity to discuss steps to advance in my career, and also network with others from different organisations and disciplines. Meeting other senior women in the industry has given me confidence to know I have the opportunities to move forward to leadership roles.”

McConnell Dowell has seven staff members involved in the program, both as mentors and mentees, and will continue to work with LXRA and its Alliance partners to promote and foster development opportunities for participants throughout the program and onwards, as they work to remove level crossings over the coming years.

“There are significant opportunities on the horizon in our industry as a result of technological change and innovation,” said Mr Trantino.   “That’s why this important refinement to our operating model puts us in a great position to drive excellence and innovation across the company.”

Reporting to Mr Trantino, and with a focus on technical excellence and leadership, the team will be led by Group Technical Directors in four key capability areas and will be supported by a team of highly capable engineers and estimators.

	Marine – David Christodoulou.  Spanning a 25 year career, David has overseen the growth of the MCD marine business in South East Asia and has led the development of major projects such as Vale Max (a wharf which caters for the world’s largest bulk carriers) in Malaysia and Singapore’s newest International Cruise Terminal.
	Tunnelling and Underground – Gareth Page.  With more than 35 years of underground construction experience, including major tunnelling projects such as the London Underground, the Channel Tunnel and the Mass Transit Railway of Hong Kong.
	Pipelines – Leon Richards.  For more than 20 years, Leon has held key project delivery roles on major pipeline projects throughout Australia and South East Asia in both the water and gas market sectors.
	Hydropower and Dams – Andrew Wilson.  With over 26 years as a Civil Engineer, Andrew has held various executive and senior roles on multidisciplinary projects around the world, including Chief Engineer on the 3300MW Ertan Hydroelectric Project in China, the contractor’s Project Manager on the 32km Mohale Water Transfer Tunnel in Lesotho and the designer’s Project Director and Chief Resident Engineer on the 1332 MW Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme in South Africa.

CEO Scott Cummins said the increased focus on engineering, technology and innovation was allowing the business to take full advantage of the significant opportunities ahead.  “By transforming, standardising and simplifying our business, we’ve put our customers at the heart of everything we do.  This ensures we will continue to deliver on our Creative Construction brand,” Mr Cummins said.

With construction set to start in 2019, the $1.2bn Central Interceptor is one of the most significant wastewater projects in Auckland’s history and one of New Zealand’s most ambitious tunnelling projects.

The 4.5m diameter tunnel and link sewers will consist of 17 shafts at 16 locations and connect to existing networks along the 13km route between Western Springs and the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant. The tunnel will be up to 110 metres below the surface, crossing 15 metres beneath the Manukau Harbour.

You can find more information about the project in this fact sheet.