Candidate Information Pack
Prepared for Construct your Career with MCD
May 2026
Introduction - Overseas Recruitment New Zealand
Thank you for your recent application to McConnell Dowell in New Zealand.
As we begin the assessment process we thought we'd share this short information pack. It explains at bit more about the benefits of working with us, showcases our capabilities, and profiles some of our diverse project portfolio.
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..
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 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.
Ports & Coastal Solutions
With over 330 marine projects completed across six decades, McConnell Dowell is synonymous with marine infrastructure.
From wharves and jetties to ocean outfalls, breakwaters, and submarine pipelines — we bring coastal confidence to every project.
Our modular approach to construction has helped create productive ports for clients like Rio Tinto, FMG, Vale, and BHP, where over 1.2 billion tonnes of iron ore are shipped annually from wharves we built.
Queen Sālote International Wharf Upgrade
We upgraded the Queen Sālote International Wharf in Nukau'alofa for the Tongan Ministry of Infrastructure between 2023 and 2025, on time and on budget, with zero LITs during the one million hours worked.
The wharf is Tonga’s only international port, a lifeline for the country, processing 95% of the country's imports and exports. This critical infrastructure upgrade modernised and climate-proofed the facility, increased capacity, and improved power, drainage and water services.
Fast Facts
- Wharf reconstruction and extensions to cater for larger vessels
- Construction of four new berthing and mooring dolphins
- General port improvements, including paving, drainage, lighting, and firefighting facilities
Transport Solutions
When it comes to building the bridges and tunnels that connect communities and keep economies moving, McConnell Dowell brings the experience, ingenuity, and dependability to deliver.
We’ve installed multi-span road bridges over live highways, launched heavy rail bridges across active corridors with minimal disruption, and upgraded major intersections and interchanges in some of the busiest transport networks.
From regional road upgrades to city-shaping rail overpasses, we work in close collaboration with stakeholders to deliver complex transport solutions that balance technical excellence with community needs and environmental care.
When the challenge calls for building smarter, safer, and stronger transport links, McConnell Dowell is the partner you can trust to get it done.
Auckland International Airport
Pipelines, Civils, Mechanical Works, and Vertical Construction
We've been working with the Auckland International Airport team since January 2019 to maintain and improve critical assets, including upgrading live jet fuel pipelines, renewing runway pavements, and much more.
We have also worked on vertical construction projects, including the new airport upgrade with subsidiary Built Environs.
Fast Facts
- The airport and related businesses contribute $3.5 billion to Auckland’s economy
- Over 12,000 people work at Auckland Airport
- 18.5 million passengers use the airport every year
- This traffic is projected to grow to 44 million passengers in 2044
- Auckland Airport is the second-largest airport in Australasia for international passenger traffic
Civil
Our multi-disciplinary experience encompasses every type of civil construction, including bulk earthworks, foundations, hardstands, precast concrete, piling, roads, runways, and bridges.
Our ability to solve technical challenges creatively, means we find ways of delivering complex civil structures with minimal disruption to the community and our customers' operations.
Barber Grove to Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant Pipe Duplication
Future proofing and improving water quality
We used the optimum mix of tunnelling and trenched construction techniques to deliver the Barber Grove to Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant Pipe Duplication Project for Wellington Water, causing the least impact possible.
The project involved the installation of a new 1.2 km long, 1 m diameter pressurised wastewater pipeline. It services 90% of the residents in Hutt Valley, improving water quality and catering to the region’s growth.
Fast Facts
- 1.2 km long, 1 m dia. pressurised wastewater pipeline installed up 9 m deep
- 55% of the alignment installed using micro-tunnelling
- 4 No. shafts for access tunnel
Tunnelling & Underground
We've delivered over 160 km of tunnels, outfalls, underground stations, hydropower caverns, and underpasses; moving more than five million tonnes of earth and rock in the process.
Our creative construction approach has seen us successfully pioneer new and innovative technologies, and we are renowned for our capacity to provide fully integrated engineering and construction solutions.
Warkworth to Snells Transfer Pipeline
Enhancing wastewater management for a sustainable future
Drawing on our industry-leading trenchless construction experience, we delivered the Warkworth to Snells Transfer Pipeline for Watercare, continuing our strong relationship with them.
The project was part of Watercare's North-East Wastewater Servicing Scheme, which conveyed wastewater from Warkworth to Snells Beach. The scheme will cater for future growth and enable Watercare to decommission the existing Warkworth Wastewater Treatment Plant, which discharges into the Mahurangi River.
Fast Facts
- 1.4 km long dual rising main
- 3.6 km long single gravity sewer
- 409 steel pipes, each 1219 mm in diameter and weighing 6.85 tonnes
- Water NZ Project of the Year 2025
Auckland City Hospital Central Plant and Tunnel
Auckland City Hospital is a complex stakeholder environment with patients, staff, specialist service providers, emergency vehicles and a helicopter pad all intersecting within a small footprint in central Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.
The project team planned the construction method to suit the 24/7 live hospital environment and minimise disruption to stakeholders by creating a custom traffic management plan, including an access ramp so large vehicles like trucks could be separated from hospital traffic.
Fast Facts
- 110 foundation piles between 7.5m and 26m installed over ten weeks during Enabling Works.
- 240m long services tunnel with an internal dimension of 4m and 3.5m will be built using open-cut-and-cover methodologies.
- A five-storey, 5,230 m2 building will be constructed adjacent to the Ronald McDonald House.
- Seismic resilience of the building will be increased by using bespoke triple friction pendulum bearings.
- Installation and commissioning of new hospital backbone services and equipment.
- Deconstruction and decommissioning of old services and plant building A06.
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Summary
Thank you for considering McConnell Dowell in your future career plans. We hope this information has provided you with some additional insights into the exciting work we do, and the benefits of working with us.