Capability Statement

Capability Statement

Prepared for Prepared for WaterNSW

May 2026

Introduction - Recruitment

Introduction - Recruitment

Thank you for considering McConnell Dowell. This short capability statement explains a bit more about the benefits of working with us and showcases our capabilities and some of the interesting projects we deliver.

About Us (typically use first)

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)

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.

Purpose & Values (typically use 2nd or 3rd)

Purpose & Values (typically use 2nd or 3rd)

We are a Purpose and Values driven organisation. These define what's important to us, guide our decision making and unite us behind a common goal.

Our Purpose is Providing a Better Life.

We do that through delivering projects that connect, sustain and enhance communities, and through providing career opportunities that challenge, reward and grow our people.

We also have five company values that guide our behaviours and decisions. Our values are:

Our Solutions (typically use 4th to 8th)

Our Solutions (typically use 4th to 8th)

We offer our customers engineering and construction solutions in transport, water & wastewater, ports & coastal, energy, resources, and building.

Our services encompass the complete project lifecycle—from early concept design to commissioning and ongoing maintenance. We tailor each solution to suit our customer's specific project objectives and preferred delivery approach.

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.

AU Org chart May2026

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.

NSW & ACT Intro (typically use 4th to 8th)

NSW & ACT Intro (typically use 4th to 8th)

Since completing our first project in Sydney in the 1970s, we've delivered a diverse range of projects throughout New South Wales and the ACT.

Urban projects have included construction of two new recreational wharves at Kamay (Botany Bay); the design and installation of complex subsea pipelines for the Sydney Desalination Plant; the transformation of Penrith's CBD through the Mulgoa Road upgrade; and the refurbushment of the Overseas Passenger Terminal in the iconic Circular Quay.

Regionally, the company has constructed a new LNG gas import terminal and a tug boat facility at Port Kembla in Wollongong; upgraded the Hume Dam in Albury; duplicated the Pacific Highway between Kempsey and Kundabung; and supported ARTC with track upgrades in the Hunter Valley.

Energy Solutions

Energy Solutions

We help create safe, sustainable and efficient power infrastructure that supports today’s energy hungry and environmentally conscious communities. We deliver civil, electrical, mechanical, pipelines and tunnelling works across all power generation types. 

Recent projects that reflect our capabilities in sustainable power generation include the engineering, procurement and construction of the 166 MW Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station in New Zealand; the refurbishment of the 75 MW Ambuklao and 100 MW Binga Hydropower Plants in the Philippines; and the current Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project in Queensland.

Genex Power Early Contractor Involvement Kidston, Queensland

Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro

A game-changing project for Australia's clean energy industry

We are constructing the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project in Far North Queensland - an innovative project that involves the world-first conversion of a disused gold mine into a pumped storage hydroelectric power generation facility.

This first-of-its-kind natural battery storage facility has the potential to generate up to 250 MW of rapid response (less than 30 seconds), flexible power to Australia’s National Electricity Market.

Fast Facts

  • First-of-its-kind natural battery storage facility
  • 250 MW of rapid response (30 seconds) renewable energy
  • 4 year design development and technical optimisation leading up to construction
  • 800 jobs to be created during construction
Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro
SNAP Design and Construct North Luzon, Philippines

Maris South Canal Hydro Electric Power Project

Statkraft Norfund Power Investment Group and Aboitiz Power (SNAP) awarded us the Maris South Canal Hydro Electric Power (HEPP) project - an 8.5 MW low head hydroelectric power station in North Luzon, Philippines.

The award built on our 10 year working relationship with SNAP, who are the owners of the Ambuklao Hydro Power Plant in the Philippines, which we rehabilitated for them.

Maris South Canal Hydro Electric Power Project
SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) Construct Only Baguio City, Philippines

Ambuklao & Binga Hydro Powerplants Rehabilitation

We rehabilitated the Ambuklao and Binga hydro electric powerplants for SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet (SNAP), combining expert project knowledge with proven construction techniques to complete the projects safely and efficiently.

Ambuklao was first commissioned in 1956, while the downstream Binga plant was commissioned in 1960. Both were shutdown in 1999 due to damage from an earlier earthquake.

Fast Facts

  • 2 hydropower plants
  • 4 million hours
  • 2 million hours LTI free
  • 19,000 m3 of concrete
  • 8,000 m3 of shotcrete
Ambuklao & Binga Hydro Powerplants Rehabilitation
AGL Southern Hydro Design and Construct Bogong, Victoria

Bogong Hydro Power Project

Awarded the design and construct contract for the Bogong Power Development Project by AGL, our engineers set about developing smart design and construction strategies that ultimately reduced the project cost by A$30 million.

Consisting of a network of tunnels and shafts and the construction of a new underground hydro electric power station, the Bogong Power Development Project is the largest hydro power project constructed in Australia in 25 years.

Fast Facts

  • 6.5 km of 5 m diameter hardrock tunnel constructed using a tunnel boring machine;
  • 1.3 km of drill and blast tunnels;
  • 250 m of 5 m diameter shafts;
  • 5,000 t penstock liners;
  • Power station construction and installation of two 70 MW turbines.
Bogong Hydro Power Project
State Water Corporation, NSW Design and Construct Albury, New South Wales

Hume Dam Upgrade

Improving flood safety performance

We improved the safety and performance of one of the largest dams in the Southern Hemisphere for the NSW state government. They selected us based on the quality of our technical solution, our approach to protecting the sensitive river environment, and our strategies for minimising impacts on the nearby tourist park.

We secured the project after an extensive pre-qualification and competative early tender involvement (ETI) process.

Fast Facts

  • 9 m deep temporary sheetpile cofferdam
  • 20,000 m3 of mass concrete placed
  • 92 piles installed to a depth of 16 metres
  • 400 m from tourist park
Hume Dam Upgrade
Department of Primary Industries, Water & Environment Design and Construct Meander Valley, Tasmania

Meander Dam

Bringing reliable irrigation to support agriculture in northern Tasmania

We proposed and implemented an alternative construction approach for the Meander Dam project, with our roller compacted concrete (RCC) solution reducing environmental risk and delivering cost, productivity and program benefits for the Tasmanian Government.

Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) is a special blend of concrete that has essentially the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in different ratios. The drier mix has many time and cost benefits over conventional mass concrete, including higher rates of concrete placement, lower material costs, and lower costs associated with post-cooling and formwork

Fast Facts

  • 50 m high x 180 m wide Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dam
  • 1,200 m of curtain wall drilling and grouting
  • 85,000 m3 of RCC and 225,000 tonne of rock produced from onsite quarry
  • 130,000 m3 of earth moved
Meander Dam
Brisbane City Council Alliance Lake Manchester, Queensland

Lake Manchester Dam Upgrade

Improving dam safety through innovation

In an alliance with Brisbane Water we upgraded the Lake Manchester Dam, 25 km west of Brisbane, to meet current Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) guidelines. The inherent instability of the dam structure required some imaginative approaches.

The safety issues needing rectification included inadequate spillway capacity; the potential instability of the dam when water levels reached the crest of the dam; the possibility of the washing out of the downstream toe of the dam during major flood events; and potential erosion problems in the ‘plunge pool’ of the spillway.

Fast Facts

  • 90,000 m3 of earthworks
  • 5.8 m dam wall raising
  • 69 post-tenisoned ground anchors installed
  • Awarded Civil Contractors Excellence Award
Lake Manchester Dam Upgrade
Watercare Services Ltd Design & Construct Auckland, New Zealand

Cosseys Dam Upgrade & Remedial Works

Ensuring the long-term integrity of Auckland's third largest dam

We developed some innovative design and construction solutions to upgrade 1950s-built Cosseys Dam, after Watercare detected significant deterioration. Located in the environmentally sensitive Hunua Ranges, the earth fill structure is Auckland's third largest dam and holds 14% of the city’s water storage.

The earthfill dam stands 49 m high and 170 m long at the crest. It has a 230 m long diversion tunnel linking to a valve tower and scour systems.

Fast Facts

  • 49 m high, zoned earthfill dam
  • 36 m deep excavation face
  • 300,000 m3 of fill replaced
  • 0 LTIs
Cosseys Dam Upgrade & Remedial Works
Safety

Safety

We never compromise on safety.

We foster our 'Home Without Harm' safety culture through robust processes, effective systems, and by recognising and rewarding safe behaviours.

Our Site Safety Managers are always on our project leadership teams, ensuring safety is prioritised in all site activities. Every team member has clear safety responsibilities, aimed at protecting themselves, their colleagues, and the community.

We're also leading our industry in the adoption of new safety technologies, like virtual reality plant simulators and AI-enabled blind spot elimination. Check out the case studies below for more information.

Underpinning it all are our Safety Golden Rules. Built on our long-term collective knowledge and learnings, they are specifically targeted at preventing fatalities and serious injuries.

inpage image safety

SGR webpage banner

safesites banner wide

Sustainability (ESG)

Sustainability (ESG)

Our purpose is 'Providing a Better Life’ - today and into the future. That’s why sustainability, in all its forms, is considered in every project, process and product across our business.

Our approach is clearly articulated in our Sustainability Policy.

We're about action not just aspiration. Our ambitious but achievable {tip title="Carbon Reduction Roadmap" content="MCD Carbon roadmap 2030"} carbon reduction road-map {/tip} will see us be operationally net zero by 2030, with 44 initiatives that are being progressively rolled out across the company. Last year we reduced our carbon emissions by 442 tonnes through the use of solar technologies alone, and diverted almost two million tonnes of waste from landfill.

Environmental

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 {tip title="Carbon Reduction Roadmap" content="MCD Carbon roadmap 2030"} carbon reduction road-map {/tip}.

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.

Social

Social

We consider the 'Social' aspect of ESG to encompass everything related to people.

That's from ensuring everyone goes Home Without Harm, to making a positive and meaningful impact on the well-being and prosperity of our employees, stakeholders, and the communities we engage with. This focus aligns seamlessly with our purpose of 'Providing a Better Life'.

Our commitment begins with our rigorous safety management system and extends to maximising local employment and supply opportunities, as well as delivering needs-based community support and uplift initiatives through our projects.

Closing text - with contacts and 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) at the bottom for advice or assistance with your project.

Contacts

Toby Herniman

Toby Herniman

Pre-Contracts Manager - NSW & ACT

M: +61 478 946 769

LinkedIn
Nathan Mete

Nathan Mete

Business Development - NSW & ACT

M: +61 434 611 659

LinkedIn