The Port Capacity Project for the Port of Melbourne included the design and construction of 1.5 kilometres of wharf, the dredging of over 1.8 million cubic metres of spoil, upgraded navigational aids and the extraction of strongly embedded previous piles weighing up to 80 tonnes. It presented operational, environmental, engineering and geotechnical challenges.

Speaking at the completion of the project in 2016, Port of Melbourne Program Manager – Maritime Infrastructure Delivery Hany Wardan praised McConnell Dowell’s contribution: “They realised our vision for Webb Dock (and) added tremendous value throughout the project. They reinvented the design and delivered an outstanding result... The quality of project execution was nothing short of exceptional.”

In accepting the Australian Construction Achievement Award, McConnell Dowell’s Project Director Jim Miller thanked the Port of Melbourne, design partner Arup as well as key project partners Jacobs, Heron Dredging and Austral Construction.

“The award is recognition of years of dedication by many people. They lived and breathed the fundamentals of our team charter displaying and holding themselves true to behaviours around, trust, respect, accountability, honesty, empathy and resilience,” he said.

The Australian Construction Achievement Award was created by the Australian Constructors Association (ACA) and Engineers Australia to recognise and reward innovation and the highest standard of work in the Australian construction industry.

Commenting on the announcement of the winner, ACA President John Flecker said that the winning project, by constructor McConnell Dowell, showcased the highly innovative solutions that constructors develop to overcome the technically challenging issues associated with today's mega projects.

The Chair of the Judging Panel, Mr Peter Godfrey said of the winner: "The maritime package had to be completed adjacent to other major construction activities and a working port. The Webb Dock East component was complex and multi-faceted, requiring high levels of coordination with an operational dock, undertaken within a constricted and busy footprint."

“The project is an outstanding example of collaboration, innovation and creative construction.”  

“Project Director Jim Miller and his team are to be congratulated on being awarded Australia’s most prestigious accolade against a field of five other worthy shortlisted contestants,” he said.

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