Capability Statement
Prepared for prepared for VRET
May 2026
Introduction General
Thank you for the opportunity to present this brief capability statement which details a cross-section of our skills and experience, and showcases a selection of our recent projects.
About Us (typically use first)
For over 65 years customers have been coming to McConnell Dowell with complex projects that require innovative solutions. That's why we're known as the Creative Construction company.
From remote resources and energy projects to city-shaping infrastructure, we've built thousands of quality assets and facilities.
Engineering-led, our expertise has grown steadily to span building, civil, electrical, fabrication, marine, mechanical, pipelines, rail, tunnel and underground construction..
Our Approach (typically use 2nd or 3rd)
We approach every project with a focus on creativity and certainty - seeking the right blend of innovation and safe, proven approaches so we can exceed our customers' expectations.
We also understand that construction today is as much about community and sustainability as it is about concrete and steel. Our unwavering objective and commitment is to deliver what we promise to our customers, while protecting and enhancing our people, the community and the environment.
Org chart - Australia
Our Australian Business Unit is led by an experienced group of professionals who are empowered to drive performance excellence across all our Australian operations and projects.
Our 'Win & Deliver' teams are accountable for the full lifecycle of our constructon business, including prospecting for opportunities, working with potential customers to add value in the project development phase, through to bidding for projects and delivering them.
Creative Construction
Creative Construction at McConnell Dowell is the inspired engineering behind the complex infrastructure we deliver.
It's the technical problems and challenges solved behind the scenes by people empowered to think creatively and work collaboratively. It’s the alternative idea or innovation that saves time, reduces cost, makes us safer, and delivers more value.
It might not always be evident when you look at the end product, but it's there, inside every McConnell Dowell project.
Vic & Tas Intro (typically use 4th to 8th)
Victoria has been the location of McConnell Dowell's global headquarters for over 40 years, and as our home base we've built a solid reputation across a range of markets and industries in the state.
We are very active in the transport sector and are currently delivering or have completed a series of road and rail projects for the major transport authorities such as Major Road Projects Victoria and the Level Crossing Removal Project. In Tasmania we most recently completed the New Bridgewater Bridge, Tasmania's largest ever transport infrastructure project.
We are also active in the ports sector with a number of projects completed for the Port of Melbourne, the airports sector with multiple projects delivered at Tullamarine International Airport, and the water sector with water pipelines and dams a speciality.
Swanson Dock West remediation
We recently completed Stage 1 of the Swanson Dock West Remediation, and are now delivering Stage 2. This is our sixth project for Port of Melbourne since 2017.
Swanson Dock West (SDW) is a critical International Container Terminal comprising of a 944 m wharf with three container-handling berths, which were constructed in several stages between the 1960s and 1980s. The existing wharf is of varying forms of construction and some sections are close to or beyond the typical design life of 30 years. As a result, major remediation was needed.
Fast Facts
- A three-staged wharf remediation project
- McConnell Dowell's sixth project for this customer since 2017
- Works programmed around operational wharf
Swanson Dock East Berths 1 & 2 Rehabilitation
Collaborative Approach, Safety Focus, and Minimising Disruptions in Port Rehabilitation Project
Working in collaboration with the Port of Melbourne, we successfully completed four contracts at Swanson Dock between 2017 and 2020.
After completing the award winning Port Capacity Project, we continued our partnership with Port of Melbourne with a series of smaller contracts to rehabilitate the iconic Swanson Dock - the heart of Australia's busiest container terminal.
Fast Facts
- Multiple projects successfully completed without disrupting port operations
- 412 piles driven
- 570 tonnes of reinforcement used
- 3,600 m2 of new wharf deck laid
Port Capacity Project - Webb Dock
Enhancing and expanding Australia's busiest container port
We received the Australian construction industry's highest accolade for this major wharf redevelopment within Melbourne's main port precinct.
This was a large and complex marine project delivered within Australia's busiest operational container port, and within very tight environmental controls to protect the rich marine life within the surrounding bay.
Fast Facts
- 900 tubular steel piles up to 1500 mm diameter and 45 m long driven as single length piles.
- 40,000 m³ of structural concrete.
- 10,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel.
- 40,000 m of sheet pile installation.
- 210,000 tonnes of imported quarry product.
- 15,000 m³ of rehabilitated concrete deck.
Outer Harbour Berth 6 Extension
Increasing container port capacity in South Australia
After a 6-month Early Contractor Involvement process, we're now delivering a berth extension and remediation works at the Flinders Adelaide Container Terminal (FACT) — South Australia’s only container terminal.
Our works form part of Flinders Port Holdings’ (FPH) A$350 million GatewaySA Program, a multi-year initiative designed to increase capacity, efficiency and sustainability across the terminal.
Fast Facts
- 135 m berth extension
- Quay-line extention and strutural remediation
- Site-wide services, hardstands and access road upgrades.
Mardie Salt & Potash Marine Structures
Delivering new marine facilities to grow Australian exports
We designed and constructed the marine structures for BCI Minerals’ Mardie Salt & Potash Project in Western Australia, using our innovative canti-traveller system for speed and low impact delivery.
The 'Mardie' Project is a large-scale, solar evaporation operation on the Pilbara coast. Capacity of the completed facility is estimated to be 5.35 million tonnes per annum of high purity salt and 140,000 tonnes per annum of sulphate of potash, over an operating life of at least 60 years.
Fast Facts
- 2.4 km long jetty with berthing and mooring dolphins
- 200 steel piles, up to 30 metres long
- 100 m of jetty completed every 10 days using innovative canti-traveller system
Common User Facility (Techport)
In one of the first Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contracts in Australia, we designed and delivered the Techport Australia Common User Facility - a new state-of-the-art shipbuilding and maintenance complex on the Port River at Osborne, South Australia. We delivered it in joint venture with our building company, Built Environs (the MDBE JV).
The project was rolled out in two stages. In the first stage, our team worked in collaboration with design and technology partners and DefenceSA to develop the final design and risk adjusted price.
Fast Facts
- 213 m long, 25 m wide wharf
- 450,000 m3 material dredged
- 34 m x 160 m new shiplift pocket
- Installation of Australia's largest shiplift
- Works conducted in a sensitive marine environment and dolphin sanctuary
CUF Marine Development Works
Supporting Australia's shipbuilding capacity
Fast Facts
- Construction of 80 - 100 m land backed wharf
- 40,000 m3 of dredging
- Berth kiosk services, including water and eletrical supplies
Chith Export Facility
We revolutionised the design and construction of large-scale marine infrastructure when we delivered the Chith Export Facility - a large, complex and remotely located project for Rio Tinto at their Amrun bauxite mine, south of Weipa in Far North Queensland.
The facility comprises a 650 m access jetty, a 350 m loading wharf and an onshore conveyor system. Innovatively designed by Jacobs and constructed by us in just 10 months, modularisation was at the heart of the solution and our project team took it to new levels in scale and breadth.
Fast Facts
- 650 m access jetty
- 350 m long loading wharf
- Fully modularised construction approach
- 300,000 job-hours saved
- Build time reduced by 12 months to just 10 months
- Capital expenditure reduced by $40M
Port Kembla Energy Terminal
Converting disused coal terminal to provide flexible energy supply
Engaged by Squadron Energy, one of Australia’s leading renewable energy companies, we helped establish a new gas import facility at Port Kembla to bring flexible additional energy supply to the eastern seaboard of Australia.
The facility, built on an abandoned coal export terminal, has the capacity to supply more than 70% of NSW’s gas needs.
Fast Facts
- New gas import facility
- Two contracts completed - marine works and onshore receiving facilities
- Marine works involving 160 piles, each 1500 mm diameter
- Over 500 sheet piles
- Nine mooring dolphins
- Expected capacity: 130PJ annually
Port Kembla Outer Harbour Tug Berth
When Port Kembla Port Corporation needed to replace one of NSW's oldest jetties, we brought their vision to fruition and turned what was a liability into a world-class asset.
We constructed a new 270 m long breakwater jetty using 90,000 m3 of imported rockfill and 20,000 m3 of rock armour. Prior to commencing the works, approximately 30,000 m3 of sandy clay, stiff clay and loose rock was dredged from the harbour floor using a Cutter Suction Dredge (CSD) and pumped one km into the outer harbour.
Fast Facts
- 270 m long breakwater
- 90,000 m3 of imported rockfill
- 30,000 m3 of dredging
- 1800 m2 of asphalt paving
- Two navigation beacons installed
Mordialloc Freeway
The McConnell Dowell Decmil Joint Venture delivered the Mordialloc Freeway in Melbourne’s south east four weeks ahead of schedule while setting new industry benchmarks in sustainability and workplace mental health management.
The nine kilometre freeway links the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Springvale Road in Aspendale Gardens to the Dingley Bypass in Dingley Village, creating a continuous freeway from Frankston To Clayton.
Fast Facts
- 9 km long multi-lane freeway
- 6 road bridges constructed
- 8 km of shared walking/cycling paths
- 3 million tonnes of earthworks imported
- 74 km of utilities relocated
- 97% of construction waste diverted from landfill
Environmental
We understand the impact construction can have on our natural ecologies and we're constantly seeking ways to minimise our footprint and restore and improve the natural environment and biodiversity around our works.
We've embraced the circular economy, renewed local ecologies, reconnected habitats, and lowered energy use across our projects in line with our carbon reduction road-map.
We set energy and waste reduction targets on every project and are committed to making our environmental footprint as small as possible, as showcased in the recent case studies below.
Low impact marine construction
On the Granite Island Causeway Project in South Australia our team used the 'hand over hand' construction method to minimise environmental impacts and ensure delivery on time.
The 'hand over hand' method employs three concurrent work fronts:
- Front one installing the permanent piles
- Front two installing the grouted HDPE sleeves and the precast headstocks
- Front three installing the precast longitudinal girders and decks.
As the structure advances out into the water it acts as a construction platform for the work crews to build the next stage. Each work front takes a similar duration, ensuring maximum certainty in productivity and schedule.
Analysis was conducted on various construction approaches during the tender phase, including the use of jack-up barges or a temporary bridge structure to facilitate construction. However, the 'hand over hand' method was the only one capable of achieving completion by the target date.
The other benefit of the method is its minimal footprint. Minimising the impact on the sensitive marine environment was a key consideration during the tender and design phases of the project.
The adoption of the method, along with the use of precast prestressed deck units which pushed the span out as far as possible, minimised the number of pile driving operations further reducing the impact on the marine environment.
The design and construction methodology was fit-for-purpose and extremely efficient. It resulted in on time and on budget completion and had a low impact on Victor Harbor's rich marine ecology.
Linked barges to minimise environmental impact
Our marine engineering specialists are always on the lookout for ways to minimise the impact of our works on sensitive environments, and a recent example comes from the New Bridgewater Bridge Project in Tasmania.
The project involves a new 1,300 m long bridge built across the River Derwent. The bridge is being erected from a temporary access platform, which crosses shallow tidal mudflats that have significant environmental, cultural and heritage importance. The temporary access platform allows continuous access for delivery and lifting of segments along the bridge alignment
The initial design for the temporary access platform included piles, but this approach was deemed to have significant environmental, cost and program impacts.
So an alternate and innovative construction methodology was developed by our marine specialists.
While the shallow tidal mudflats prevented the use of floating crane barges, interconnected barges placed on the seabed form the basis of the solution.
Standard (flat-top, 55 m long) barges have been floated into position at high tide, trimmed and ballasted down onto the mud flats. The barges are connected using specifically designed link bridges, allowing movement of equipment over a total length of about 800 m.
The innovative design caters for critical issues such as differential settlement of the very soft muds under cyclic loads; dynamic lifting loads; and load sharing between barges. Specific lift plans have been developed to address key risks during erection.
The linked barges design provides a safe and cost-effective solution while minimising the impact of construction activities on the environmentally sensitive mudflats. After the barges have been removed the mudflats are expected to recover completely. The barges and link bridges can also be re-used on other marine projects, unlike the original piled solution.
A 'whale of a time' with noise attenuation
On the Granite Island Causeway project in South Australia, our team designed and implemented a "shroud and bubble curtain" to stop marine piling noise from disturbing the Southern Right Whale (SRW) and other marine fauna, such as the Australian sea lion and little penguins.
Prior to the solution being developed and approved, a local whale protection group strongly objected to piling occurring during whale season, which had the potential to impact the project's schedule and budget.
The bubble curtain was designed to reduce the noise levels by scattering, absorption, reflection, and refraction of the sound waves. The curtain design, along with some other piling modifications, gave sufficient confidence for federal approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act for piling during the whale season.
Closing Text - General with contacts, no video
Summary
Thank you for taking an interest in McConnell Dowell's skills, capabilities and approach. Additional information is available on our website, including additional project case studies.
Contact us through the link(s) below for advice or assistance with your project.
Contacts
